If you don’t have a scale, the amount your use depends on how you measure flour. If you measure it the way we do here at King Arthur – the method all of our recipes are written for – you’ll use 7 1/2 cups.

If you measure via the “dip and sweep” method – that is, you dip your cup into the flour canister, tapping the cup to kinda tamp it down, then sweeping off the excess – use 6 1/2 cups.

Why? Because flour you dip out of the canister can weigh about 25% more than flour you measure by the King Arthur “sprinkle and sweep” method. So by volume, you use less of it to achieve the target weight of 32 ounces.

Note to eagle-eyed scale-users: Assuming a weight of 4 1/4 ounces per cup of King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, 7 1/2 cups will weigh 31 5/8 ounces. If you’re using a 2-lb. bag of flour – CLOSE ENOUGH!

Mix and stir everything together to make a very sticky, rough dough. If you have a stand mixer, beat at medium speed with the beater blade for 30 to 60 seconds.

If you don’t have a mixer, just stir-stir-stir with a big spoon or dough whisk till everything is combined.

2. Let the dough rise.

Next, you’re going to let the dough rise. If you’ve made the dough in a plastic bucket, you’re all set – just let it stay there, covering the bucket with a lid or plastic wrap; a shower cap actually works well here.

If you’ve made the dough in a bowl that’s not at least 6-quart capacity, transfer it to a large bowl; it’s going to rise a lot. There’s no need to grease the bowl, though you can if you like; it makes it a bit easier to get the dough out when it’s time to bake bread.

Cover the bowl or bucket, and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours. It’ll rise quite vigorously.

3. Chill the dough.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to about 7 days. (If you’re pressed for time, you can skip the initial room-temperature rise, and stick it right into the fridge).

Over the course of the first day or so in the fridge, it’ll rise, then fall. That’s OK; that’s what it’s supposed to do. The longer you keep the dough chilled, the tangier it’ll get; if you chill it for 7 days, it will taste like sourdough.

When you’re ready to bake, take the dough out of the refrigerator.

Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour; this will make it easier to grab a hunk.

4. Ready to bake? Shape a loaf.

Grease your hands, and pull off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dough — a 14-ounce to 19-ounce piece, if you have a scale. It’ll be about the size of a softball, or a large grapefruit.

Will you look at that gluten?! Gluten, a combination of liquid-activated proteins in flour, is the stretchy matrix that makes it possible for yeast bread to rise.

Plop the sticky dough onto a floured work surface, and round it into a ball, or a longer log. Don’t fuss around trying to make it perfect; just do the best you can.

Place the dough on a piece of parchment (if you’re going to bake on a hot pizza stone); or onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top; this will help keep the dough moist as it rests before baking.

You don’t have to make a ball. Make a longer, baguette-type loaf, if you like.

5. Let the loaf rise.

Let the dough rise for about 45 to 60 minutes. It won’t appear to rise upwards that much; rather, it’ll seem to settle and expand.

Preheat your oven (and pizza stone, if you’re using one) to 450°F while the dough rests. Place a shallow pan on the lowest oven rack, with another rack right above it. Have 1 cup of hot water ready to go.

When you’re ready to bake, dust the loaves with flour. Then take a sharp knife and slash the bread 2 or 3 times, making a cut about 1/2” deep.

The bread may deflate a bit. That’s OK, it’ll pick right up in the hot oven.

6. Bake your no-knead bread.

Place the bread directly on the pizza stone (complete with parchment), or place the pan on the rack above the lower rack.

No baking stone? No worries. While a stone does give a slightly chewier bottom crust, a baking sheet gives just as much pop.

Carefully pour the 1 cup hot water into the shallow pan on the lowest oven rack. It’ll bubble and steam; close the oven door quickly.

So what’s with the steam? It settles on the bread’s crust, making it soft and flexible enough to rise as high as possible during those first few crucial minutes of baking.

Bake the bread for 25 to 35 minutes, until it’s a deep, golden brown. Remove it from the oven, and place it on a rack to cool.

7. Enjoy!

This loaf is pretty, but I’d call it a bit under-baked; it should really be darker, to ensure the interior is the optimum consistency.

I’d say this interior is pretty optimum, wouldn’t you?

Now, how about making bread made from dough that’s been in the fridge for 9 days. WHOOPS! Will it still work?

You betcha! My nine-day-old made a great loaf – perhaps my best yet. It was unbelievably chewy/crusty, and full of those big, irregular holes I’d been seeking earlier.

When it was fully baked, I left it on the stone, turned off the oven, and cracked the door open a few inches with a folded potholder. Cooling it in the oven made its crust wonderfully crunchy/crackly.

Well, here we are at the bottom line. And what do we all conclude, bakers?

Even if this is your very first encounter with yeast, you can make wonderful, artisan-style bread.

And, if you’re someone who likes to “bake metric” – Jeff and Zoë’s original best-seller, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, is now available in a British version, featuring metric measurements. Look for it at Amazon.co.uk.

PJ Hamel grew up in New England, graduated from Brown University, and was a Maine journalist before joining King Arthur Flour in 1990. PJ bakes and writes from her home on Cape Cod, where she enjoys beach-walking, her husband, two dogs, and really good food!

We don’t have a gluten-free version of this no-knead bread recipe yet, but our friends who wrote the book “Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day,” have come up with a gluten-free version, which is just what you may be looking for. They describe the no-knead technique in their cookbook, Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day–it uses a similar technique to the one described in this blog here. We hope you check it out! Kye@KAF

When you live at a high elevation, you need to add and delete certain ingredients and or adapt temperatures and bake times. Here is the link to our High Altitude Baking Chart: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html. Open the chart and reference what you are baking and adapt those changes to your recipe. Hope this helps. JoAnn@KAF

This recipe looks really good and easy. I love how you can make different loaf shapes with it. Could you make it with whole wheat flour? It would be worth a try. Just increase your water by about 2 -3 tablespoons. Let us know how it comes out! Mary @ KAF

I’ve been substituting organic whole wheat pastry flour for all the flour in this recipe, and both the dough and the baked bread are almost identical to the ones made with only white all-purpose flour.

(I thought of using whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular whole wheat flour because — like white all-purpose flour — it has less protein than plain whole wheat flour. Other than that, I think the nutritional profiles of w/w pastry and w/w bread flour are very similar.)

No other change to the original recipe except to add extra water as suggested in the “Tips from our bakers” at the end of the recipe. (I weigh the flour, and I find that four or five tablespoons works for me.) I do slash the loaves and steam them, and they rise much more in the oven when I do that than when I don’t.

MANY thanks for this GREAT recipe! So easy to have fresh-baked bread on the table, and they taste as good as they look.

For Gerald 3/16 also living at 6800 ft use all the same measurements. When I mix ingredients together well I it holds together so well I can easily tighten dough at that point – put in olive oil greased bowl. Tighten again next day. I get 3 large loaves from this recipe. I do tighten remaining dough each time some is used. Works well at altitude with only a bit more work. Can also substitute 2 cups whole wheat for all purpose with good results. Good luck. Jan

I’ve been making these breads since the book first came out and there have been times when the dough has been left in the fridge for an unconscionable amount of time (3 weeks +/-) and it STILL comes out delicious! It’s really good shortly after the initial overnight rise, but it’s very forgiving if you leave it for a while!

Cynthia, I thought 9 days was stretching it – thanks for that information, now I’ll feel free to let it sit awhile longer. PJH

this was the recipe that first got me interested in bread baking a few years ago. I still use it as a basic everyday bread, but have since learned more traditional methods. Now I kind of prefer working with drier, less sticky dough, but this formula is almost failsafe.

Awesome recipe. It’s almost exactly the same as “Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day”, and I was so excited to see you measure the flour in ounces, because I always use King Arthur flour for it, and the measurements were a little uncertain in the book, at least to me. Since I have a very picky five year old who doesn’t appreciate a good crackling crust (oh, the humanity!) I often also use this basic dough to roll out flatbreads or pitas… they only take about 5-6 minutes to bake on the hot stone, and you don’t need to add the steam. Make it slightly bigger, and you’ve got pizza dough! Because I can never leave well enough alone, I usually add some percentage of whole wheat flour or wheat germ, and as long as it’s not too much (no more than 2 cups substitution, I’d say), the bread doesn’t suffer in taste or texture!

Beth, the recipe on the site credit Jeff and Zoe for the basis for this recipe; I’ve simply changed the amount of flour a bit.. Their new “5 Minutes” book is all about whole grains and healthy breads – I’m trying my first recipe from it tomorrow, olive spelt bread. Can’t wait! PJH

I need to call the baker’s hotline for help – I’ve tried a few loaves of bread lately and they have been rising beautifully up until I put them on the sheet pan to do the final pre-bake rise and they spread out more than rise. I’ve made several ciabatta style breads lately when I’ve intended to have taller loaves. Could it be that I used a silicone mat under the loaves instead of parchment or the plain pan? I’m so inspired and would like to be able to bake good bread without the bread machine, too!

Jamie, sounds like either your bread is rising a bit too long throughout the whole process (the gluten eventually weakens); or it’s just a bit too soft/slack. Try using ab it more flour, and not letting it rise quite as long for the first rise, OK? And do call the hotline – they can definitely talk you through it. Good luck – PJH

I learned this trick from my sister who bakes bread on a regular basis. I have seen her put all kind of flour together if she did not have enough of one kind.
She uses wooden slats, cut the exact size of her baking sheet & puts them on each side of the rising bread.
For round loaves she uses the ring of spring form. It always works.

This makes a dought of about 80% ratio water/flour (by weight 26oz/32oz). I am usually doing a ratio of 70-75% and it is really sticky and does not seem to have enough consistancy to rise vertically (it looks like your wetter/slacker version).

I don’t know I must be doing something wrong. When you are forming the ball/torpedo do you add much flour? How do you get it to keep its shape while rising out and then in the oven?

Not wrong, Julien – just different. I prefer to think there’s no “right” and “wrong” in bread-baking. First, the dough is cold so it’s naturally less sticky. Second, it’s been resting for at least hours, more often days, and it’s gotten less slack and the gluten has continued to develop, giving it more body. Third, I dump the sticky dough onto a fairly heavily floured board, and it does pick up some flour. I thnk the main difference though, is that rest in the fridge. Going in, it’s so slack you really wouldn’t want to work with it. After a day or so, it’s firmed up pretty nicely – still slack, but workable. Give the fridge method a try, I think you’ll like it – PJH

You should give credit to ARTISAN BREAD IN 5 MINUTES or the authors (Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois) for this.

I do give them credit, Helen – click through to the recipe. I’m in touch with Jeff often – in fact, just emailed with him this afternoon about his new book, which looks fabulous. I’ll be making my first recipe from it tomorrow. PJH

beginning at the beginning of this ‘treatise’ on No Knead there is this within the first 100 words or so and credit was issued throughout following: “Which we print here courtesy of Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François, authors of the runaway best-seller Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.”

Look for the Master Recipe. They’ve worked it all out. After all, they’re the one’s who came up w/ this technique. Hint: there are a couple of special tricks for wwflour.

Sorry to sound snarky. It’s just the whole credit where credit’s due thing.

Helen, check out the recipe. I always assume folks will click through to the recipe, which is where you get the weights. Sorry I rubbed you the wrong way here – but as I said, Jeff and I have a very happy, collegial relationship, and I’d never “steal” anything from him, honest – I told him this afternoon to look for this blog, so I’m not hiding anything, honest! PJH

Helen in CA, yes, you are being snarky and it’s completely undeserved. Had you bothered to absorb that which you were reading, you would have seen the credit that PJ gave them. A little less anger and a lot more baking goes a long way to a happy heart and mind.

And in other news, I just made 2 loaves and they came out perfect. Can’t thank you enough for reposting this amazing recipe.

Please, Helen, enough criticism! I trust the integrity of King Arthur’s Flour’s writing staff and read from this site for pleasure, relaxation and inspiration. PJH did give credit where credit was due… so why not get back to reading, baking, and dreaming of the scents of the next loaf of bread you will be baking! Have a happier day!

OOOH you have no idea how excited i am to try this! the best part is i can put it all together now and bake it this weekend 🙂

question – would the extra 2-3 tbsp of water also apply if using the white wheat flour?

No need for the extra water, Kate – But if you’re using 100% whole wheat, all bets are off – this recipe is written for AP flour. Stay tuned on a report about Jeff & Zoe’s newest book, “Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.” Book is for sale at Amazon now – take a look. PJH

Actually, the “No-Knead Bread” frenzy–the modern one at least, began with Jim Lahey at the Sullivan Bakery in NYC, with help from Mark Bittman and the NYTimes—and, if you go back far enough in history, we’d have to credit the earliest bakers, who used this very method and a fire to bake their breads. All this interest is great for getting everyone to make bread–the easier and more accessible, the better! (and I am a college educator who teaches citations, so I have a vested interested in giving credit where credit is due—but not needed when it the information is common knowledge and long-standing!)

Thanks, Charlene. And before Jim, as you say, were the legions of ’50s housewives making cottage cheese/dill batter bread. As you say, very slack yeast doughs strecth back to the times of emmer and einkorn… PJH

I just made up a bucket of this dough from the recipe in the Artisan Bread in 5 min book. I didn’t want to sprinkle and sweep six and a half cups, so I weighed the first cup and then multiplied – my cup was 5 oz, so I used 32.5 oz total – glad to see I wasn’t far off.

In the book, it is mentioned that KAF’s All-Purpose Flour has a high protein content in the range of most flours labelled bread flour. Do you think this affects the bread much? Does KAF sell an alternative closer to ‘regular’ AP flour?

Jo, our AP flour is 11.7%, bread flour 12.7%. Our Perfect Pastry Blend (a.k.a. Mellow Pastry Blend) is 10.3%, which puts it right in line with the range for Gold Medal and Pillsbury AP flours. PJH

I’m going to make sure that my college aged son has this link. I know he has the previous post you did bookmarked. http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2009/06/15/yeast-101-a-required-course-for-new-grads/He's made many successful loaves based on that entry. That entry was also a plug for Jeff and Zoe’s first book, so obviously you’re giving credit where credit is due. And as Charlene pointed out this technique is as old as stone hearth baking. Thanks for another great entry. Like I said my son will definitely benefit from this.

Great, Sue – bake it forward! I’m loving that the next generation can take and run with this “new” method, which is actually old as old can be – but brought to light again by Jim Lahey and Mark Bittman and Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois and everyone who makes their own tweaks to the basic flour-water-salt-yeast formula. Thanks for connecting, as always – PJH

Evelin – I think you and I might be baking the same recipe…in a dutch oven, which is also from the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes per day. It is a single batch of dough though… I think 3 cups flour, 1/4 t. yeast, 1 1/3 cup flour, 1 t. salt. Mix it up in a bowl quick, cover and let rise on the counter for 12 to 18 hour. then gently form a loaf on a floured board and heat up a dutch oven to 475 in an oven. Plop the dough of bread into the dutch oven, cover it, and bake in the hot oven for 30 minutes covered, and then an additional 5 to 15 minutes uncovered until nicely golden. It pops right out of the dutch oven and then put it on a cooling rack. Super crispy crust, moist yummy insides.

Wow – loved all of the tips and info about baking bread. My mom is an expert bread baker, but I have never quite gotten a good feel for it. I will definitely give this a try… It looks like bread that even I can make!

Jen, YOU CAN DO THIS. Totally. And soon you’ll be rivaling your mom! Have fun – PJH

Barbara Neal, did you mean 3 cups of *WATER*? Just curious because I see 1 1/2 c of flour again later in the Ings and I think you mean water the first time going by the quantities. 😉 I usually go buy ATK’s recipes if only because they DO test their recipes so very many times. Having said that, KA has my loyalty because they KNOW bread!! Argh! Where I live and HOW plays SUCH a role on how I bake … Thanks for the variation!!!

I’ve been using Cook’s Illustrated’s version (uses beer, vinegar) and love it. I like the idea/option of keeping it in the fridge-inevitably I forget to make it the night before the day I need to use it!

I have trouble with the bottom of the loaves getting too crisp and hard. Maybe your method will work-I’ll try it!

I’ve been playing around with minimally kneaded, refrigerator retarded, high hydration dough for quite a while now. I’ve baked them in dutch ovens, on a baking stone, and on a sheet pan. I’ve added cheese cubes (asiago is great), and sprinkled with seeds. This is a great concept and appears to be nearly foolproof.

This recipe is quite a bit dryer than my current favorite – I bet it’s MUCH easier to work with. I’m off to the kitchen to mix up a batch tonight! -Tom

My Mother made a recipe similar to this in the 50s and 60s. I will try keeping this in the refrig a week or so. I have been playing around with my sour dough starter to make a half whole wheat bread. Made chocolate cranberry sour dough recently; added walnuts to the second loaf.

I will try this with part whole wheat. I wonder how it would as rolls or buns?

Marcia, it works fine as rolls – it seems to work fine any shape you like! Just remember it’s a “lean” dough (no fat), so it won’t make a soft roll or sandwich loaf; much more suited to crisp/crunchy/chewy type loaves. Enjoy – PJH

Question for all you Dutch Oven users–I’ve just started playing around with that idea. I’ve read different versions of it–with a pre-heated DO, and without. Which do you prefer? The pre-heated makes the most sense to me!

Jeri, preheated works well IF you’re sure your Dutch oven can take being heated to a high temperature with nothing in it. Cast iron – no problem. Stoneware? Check the manufacturer’s instructions. Some stoneware’s OK; some, danger of breakage. The other tricky issue is turning that risen bread into the hot pan – you need to be very careful; for safety reasons, of course, but also that the loaf doesn’t stick to whatever it’s been rising in/on, and is able to settle happily into the hot pan. All in all – it’s worth trying if you know you Dutch oven can take the heat. Good luck – PJH

I’ve been doing my no-knead recipe in a preheated glass Pyrex dish and it works wonderfully. I got the recipe from a friend in Europe, and I halved as there’s only two of us. The neat trick is that covering the dough with a lid or foil traps the moisture that the dough gives off, emulating the steam effect. I’ve even made dried fruit studded versions for Easter. Yum!

I have enjoyed Jeff and Zoe’s first book and recently sent it to my daughter in California. I look forward to mixing up some bread on the weekends so I can relax after work with a slice of great bread from the oven! What a great recipe for the holiday season.

I have been making ABin5 for a while now and sometimes the dough came out too wet and sometimes too dry. What I did figure out is that I was measuring the flour differently from the book’s directions. I’m so used to measuring by scooping a measuring cup and then pouring that flour into another measuring cup but their directions state to just scoop the flour into a cup. The latter method provides more flour than my method (mine provides a fluffier fill if that makes sense). Since I realized this difference, my bread comes out perfect…

Can’t wait to make this. I love the rye that was in your catalog a while ago that you can let sit for a week. My family loves crusty chewy rolls, and now I can make just enough for a meal at a time. I really have to invest in the artisan bread in 5 minutes books, since you are all raving about them. I have had great luck with all kinds of batter breads and no knead breads from KAF, website, cookbooks and Baking Sheet. I made bread mixes from Kneadlessly Simple for Christmas gifts with loaf pans. I made a chocolate one yesterday from KS and it is yummy! And I can always fit the no knead recipes into a busy schedule because they are so forgiving. Love it!

This recipe is GREAT! Thanks for the pictures of the variations in the bread. I have been baking this recipe (along with the other ABin5 and HBin5 too!) since the book first came out – it definitely is impressive with the crunch and the chewiness! I just made the 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich dough from the new book in my KA Pain de Mie pan – FANTASTIC!!!

Hi PJ. Just last night I put 2 lbs. of KAF AP in my bread bucket and was planning on adding the remaining ABIF ingredients this morning. So it’s perfect timing to try your version! I’m just curious about the amount of water and salt. That’s obviously where you varied it, as theirs calls for 1.5 T kosher salt (and I assume you mean 1 T. table), and Jeff and Zoe specifically mention increasing the water from 3 cups to 3.25 if using KAF’s high protein AP flour. So can you share what those slight variations cause in terms of the finished product compared to the original recipe? Thanks!

Most all purpose flour has a gluten level of 10%, our King Arthur AP Flour has a gluten level of 11.7% , hence the increase in liquid for the higher gluten or protein level. Our testing found the 1 T. (tablespoon) of salt gave the flavor we were looking for in this recipe. Irene @ KAF

Emilie, Jeff and Zoe measure their flour differently than we do here; theirs weighs more per cup. I’ve worked the recipe out to take into account flour weighing 4 1/4 ounces per cup; and the amount of water for 32 ounces of flour – at this time of the year – is perfect. (You’d use less water in the summer, when the atmosphere is more humid). Since I’ve never made the recipe using flour other than KA, I can’t really comment on the difference between the KA version and a version using a lower-protein flour. All I can say is, the recipe here works with the ingredients/amounts as listed – as Irene commented above. Yours in good bread (however you arrive at it!) – PJH

Am reading all of these comments as this recipe is most attractive!! I did not know the importance of liquid to the amount of gluten in the flour one is using. Thank you so much and for your kindnesses in your responses to everyone!!

I have a friend who took some cooking classes in France–her bread class instructor told the class to just throw two or three ice cubes to the bottom or floor of her oven for the moisture and steam for crusty breads–been doing that now for years and it works great. I’m such a klutz I’d probably spill the water or get burned trying to pour it into the pan…Ice cubes do the trick and are real quick and easy so you can get the door closed real fast!

Joni, some oven manufacturers don’t recommend the ice cubes thing – they say it may warp the oven’s floor. That’s why I don’t advise it here, but everyone’s certainly welcome to try in their own oven – glad it’s worked for you. You can also throw ice cubes into a cast iron pot or frying pan that you’ve had heating in the oven. – PJH

My chef grandson put a stone on the bottom of my oven a few years ago – it’s a square intended for making patios outdoors, but it works. And it’s so heavy I don’t want to try dragging it out. Seems to do something for diffusing the heat and the ice cube method would work perfectly on it. Wish I had read this blog before I made two loaves last night. That batch of dough had been in the fridge at least two weeks. I’ve had it in there for three and it’s worked beautifully. I LOVE this recipe. Works for my impulsive side, and because so often it’s hard to devote the day to all the regular bread-making steps. I’m hooked on this recipe for life. PJ Hamel – saw the KAF truck at the Lobster Festival. Asked for you – you weren’t there – and was told I was not the first to ask for you! You’re a legend in mid-coast Maine. You must come visit!

I cannot stress enough the word *careful* for pouring the water into the pan. I was less than careful and ended up making a $300 loaf of bread (the cost to replace my oven glass, which promptly cracked into a bunch of pieces when I spilled water onto it — cool water and hot glass are a bad combination). I’ve actually stopped putting the water in, and the bread still bakes up fine, just with a bit less crunch.

I have your Artisan Bread Baking Crock — could you give me instructions on how to bake this bread using it?

If you check out the recipe here it will tell how to use the crock. Again, be careful when adding the bread to the dutch oven and pushing it back into the oven. Irene @ KAF

Another suggestion is to find a large, 6 quart, heavy cooking pot with metal handles that can withstand the oven in A THRIFT SHOP. You’d be surprised at how often you’d find them ata low price ($5 average!). I found that the heavy 6qt sauce pan in my set, with metal handles works A TREAT, and is so inexpensive that it won’t break my heart if it breaks one day. Happy baking!!!

Hi all! Just wanted to let you know I’ve made this recipe before and frozen it for up to 6-months. It still works fine but doesn’t have the crisp flavor you get when baking it within a week or so. You can’t beat the convenience and simplicity of this method, which produces a very good tasting bread with a great chew.

I’ve had wonderful success with all your recipes, from your Bread Bowls to your No-Knead Harvest Bread. I’m getting ready to try “No-Knead Crusty White Bread,” but just realized I am out of parchment paper. Would it work if I used a silpat mat or shall I just stick with a baking sheet?

Also, is there any danger in the dough drying out while rising if it’s not covered well with flour?

It’s disturbing to me to read criticisms of your work, i.e., not giving credit to others. You are much appreciated for your unselfishness in sharing recipes, tips and all kinds of advice. Many thanks to all of you for all your help and kindness.Hi Adele,
You can certainly use the Silpat mat under the bread, it will help with the sticky-ish dough. The coating of flour is light, like sifting sugar on a cookie. You just want to provide a light layer of protection from drying out. Thanks again for your kind comments, we aim to please! ~ MaryJane

I need to make a bread that is at least 50% non-wheat…what kinds of flours can I just to achieve that? I’m dying to hear how the spelt came out!!!

Spelt isn’t non-wheat, Kari – if you’re talking celiac or gluten issues. Spelt is a type of wheat whose gluten does seem easier to digest, but it’s still wheat. Non-wheat flours that bakers use include rice, tapioca starch, and potato starch. However, you can’t just substitute them for wheat flour willy-nilly. best to follow a specific recipe. There are lots of good gluten-free baking books out there; we offer Gluten-Free Baking Classics online here. And we’ll also be offering our own delicious King Arthur gluten-free mixes beginning this winter sometime. Good luck – PJH

Thanks for all of the no-knead recipes. A freak custard cup accident has taken my Kitchen Aid Pro 6 out of commission for a month or so, so I’m glad to have some “stir and go” recipes.

(The mixer is no longer under warranty, but the KA repair people are very nice, and I expect that they’ll do good work for far less than the price of a new mixer. Note: if adding stuff to the mixer via a hard secondary implement, turn off the beater, no matter how quick and easy that stuff seems like it will be to add.)OMG Daria, “a freak custard cup accident” struck my funny bone and had me in giggles! It reminded me of my “freak toast incident” Thanks for the smiles today! ~ MaryJane

Your timing is impeccable. Received the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes book just two days ago and have been reading/studying it. (Just made a loaf of bread a couple of days ago plus the fridge is rather full at the moment. No room for a big bucket of dough.) But I was looking at the 6 qt. dough rising bucket just this morning and figuring to maybe start some dough to have ready in a couple more days. I live alone (the cat doesn’t like bread) so a loaf lasts most of a week. It’ll be great to have all your pics when it’s time to shape and bake. I got a second copy of the book to give my niece. Hope she or one of her kids will try this. I’ll put in a note referencing this blog.

Carolyn

P.S. I buy my cookbooks from ‘Jessica’s Biscuit’, a division of the New England Book Fair in Newtonville, MA. Great prices and I think they have every cookbook in print. Amazing selection.

What a win, win! Nothing could be better than the combination of KA Flour and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes. I have been using KA for years and the Bread in Five Minutes since I found the book months ago. PJ and this recipe show you how you can have great “fancy Artisan” breads so easily anytime you want it. I have done this bread, a fried bread, an olive rosemary bread, a topped by the works bread, several variations more. They are all very good and so easy. This is a great fit for a busy work week schedule and a family who wants every meal special.

You can freeze the dough. Mornings, I raid the freezer for soup and bread dough, thaw in the fridge and come home to an easy finish up of soup and bread for super. I forgot the dough once for three weeks and got a gorgeous sourdough bread.

The only real limit here is your creativity, KA flour gives you great results. I hope you’ll try this recipe, it is a nice to have in your fridge.

Thanks for sharing your success with all of us, Susan – sounds like dinners are mighty tasty at your house! PJH

I love no knead bread! But I clicked over here hoping for a recipe I could use in my new Zo (which is on it’s way to me from KAF). Do you all have an index of recipes that are bread machine friendly?

Beth, all yeast breads are bread machine friendly, if you simply use the bread machine to knead the dough. Take a look at our Yeast Breads category in the recipe archive; scroll down, and you’ll find categories for both breads baked in the machine, and breads baked out of the machine, written specifically for bread machines. PJH

Looks like a great chance to take a break from being kneady. Would it work as well if I were to use your white wheat flour? Would it be better if I’d add a few tablespoons of gluten?

Thanks for the guidance.

Don’t know, Hal; haven’t tried it. It would certainly be different – not as high-rising, different flavor. Give it a whirl, let us know how it goes. I think you’d want to add about 3 tablespoons more water, if you’re using 100% white wheat… PJH

I’ve baked no knead bread in a cast iron Dutch oven in a convection oven. No difference from using my conventional oven. My oven runs hotter than its settings indicate, so I end up with a shorter browning time. Temps are pretty forgiving.

I enjoyed the idea of “Artisan Breads in Five Minutes” but the method resulted in having a great deal of dough in my fridge, which didn’t really work for my small family of two. Also, I found that if I made a “normal” size loaf the results would often be somewhat gummy. And the smallish loaves that book produces were just not enough to last the workweek or to serve at a dinner party.

I have had better luck with Nancy Baggett’s “Kneadlessly Simple” book, in which you mix up a batch (for one and sometimes two loaves) and just leave it in a bowl on the counter for 12-18 hours and then bake it off (or you can refrigerate it after mixing too). Her method produces generous-size loaves with no gumminess or heaviness. Her book also offers an amazing variety of breads, from artisan (including “dutch oven” breads) to old-fashioned white loaves to dessert breads. A great addition is a section in which Baggett offers tips on converting any favorite bread recipe into one using her method. By the way, Lahey didn’t invent the no-knead method, it’s been around forever; he just revived the method and made it popular again.

Using a cast-iron Dutch oven that’s preheated works wonderfully, and you can put your shaped dough on a square of parchment paper to make it easy to transfer. Once the dough is set, peel off the parchment and finish baking the bread. (It’s fine to leave the parchment the whole time, but it may get very crispy and break into small pieces when you remove the finished loaf.)

I’ve been making bread like this for a while now. While I agree that the book “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” is the basis for my current method, I wouldn’t agree they came up with this idea. I’ve seen similar ideas before in other books. (Wet dough in the refrigerator overnight…)

Don’t get me wrong, I love the book, and am glad to see the recipe here with weights.

The only problem with this bread is that it’s so darn good my wife has told me to stop making it as she’s eating too many carbs… DOH! I have a batch going right now that has some of the KA Harvest Grains mix thrown in. Should get some baked tomorrow morning. (Sorry dear… :))

Tony, I feel your pain… and your wife’s, too! I love carbs… too bad they’re not no-calorie. But surely you have friends and neighbors who’d appreciate some of your bread largesse? 🙂 PJH

Great blog! I’ve been using America’s Test Kitchen version of no-knead bread and their version uses only 1/4 tsp instant yeast for each 15 ounces of A/P flour. This recipe uses 1 1/2 Tbsp yeast for 32 ounces of flour. What’s your take on such a large variance in the amounts of yeast?

My version rises perfectly but I bake mine the next day. I’d really like to make a bigger batch now and take some as I need it. Great idea!

Julie, yeast is so easy to work with – you can use more, less, it ends up doing its thing one way or another. I’d guess Cook’s recipe has you letting the dough rise longer than 2 hours before using? This recipe, you can actually bake bread 2 hours after making the dough. That might be what the difference is. PJH

maybe a silly question – but I am a novice yeast bread maker….would it be ok to halve the recipe? Is there a reason this makes so much? For me it would be difficult to find a large enough container to hold all that dough!

Sure, Jen, not a problem. Halve, or cut in thirds, though I wouldn’t cut down more than that. Yeast baking is very friendly! PJH

THANK YOU for asking and answering this! I was searching for exactly this.

I love the idea of the bread but committing my fridge to a 6 quart bucket for a week was a sticking point. I wasn’t certain if some of the sourness after a week relied on having a good sample of wild yeasts and other microbes or whether it was almost exclusively the yeast’s activity.

Regarding using a dutch oven for baking this bread: I’ve been making my ABin5 this way for over a year. I give the dough its pre-baking rest on parchment paper, then use the parchment paper to lift the dough and place it into my preheated duch oven. Then I use the parchment to lift the loaf out of the dutch oven when it’s finished baking. It makes is safe and easy.

Why when making bread do you use all purpose flour and not bread flour. I noticed this in the potato roll recipe posted last week too. (Great rolls even made with bread flour). Just wondering!

Sara, our all-purpose flour is truly ALL-PURPOSE – good for all your baking, from pie crust and biscuits to yeast bread. King Arthur is a higher percentage protein than other national brands, because it’s made from more expensive wheat; thus it’s suitable for bread. Our bread flour, with its even higher protein, is good when you want to make very high-rising loaves; or combine with whole grains to give them some lift. PJH

question – would the extra 2-3 tbsp of water also apply if using the white wheat flour?

No need for the extra water, Kate – But if you’re using 100% whole wheat, all bets are off – this recipe is written for AP flour. Stay tuned on a report about Jeff & Zoe’s newest book, “Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.” Book is for sale at Amazon now – take a look. PJH

Might she have been referring to KA’s White WHOLE Wheat flour and whether it needed the extra water?

Yes, I’m assuming Kate was talking about white whole wheat. All I can say is, give it a try – if you’re only adding a tiny bit of white wheat, don’t adjust the water. If you’re going 100% white wheat, you’ll probably need to increase the water a bit, though I don’t know how much, as I haven’t tried it. I also don’t know how the bread will rise and bake, using 100% white wheat. I’d start with 3 tablespoons extra water, see if that gives you the hydration you like, OK? then take it from there, see if it works. Good luck – PJH

I tried the ice in a cast iron pan for steam and the seasoning is gone. Next I tried the hot water in the pan with some success. I heard that some oven windows will break if water is spilled on it. I like my cast iron Dutch oven the best. I pre-heat it (no plastic knob) and use parchment to make a sling for the loaf to rest on and go into the pan. I dry fit it to remove the excess parchment so that it will go in smoothly. My pan has a black coating on the cast iron, I think that this might be the cause for the very dark bottom crust. I will experiment with something in the pan to raise the bread off the bottom.

I am using your yeast and it works great. But I am no mathmatician, and some of my recipes say to use the yeast you have to proof. My problem is using the correct amount of red yeast to equal two packets of yeast.
I know that I have not used enough yeast in some of the receipes,usually after the dough isin the oven, but it comes out ok anyway. How do I make sure I convert correctly from packets to the SAF measure?
I am loving this new hobby of making Artisanal Breads (I love saying that), and I have made the no-knead crusty bread dough. It comes out great and your online step by step pictures are so helpful for us newbies.

What I really want to know is the conversion table from proof type yeast packets to SAF yeast.

Hi Sandy – A packet of yeast has 2 generous teaspoons, by measurement. Use about 2 1/4 teaspoons SAF Red instant yeast to equal each packet of active dry. Do you need to use less, because it’s instant? No; go ahead and use the same amount. Hope this helps – PJH

I have been using the ABin5 Peasant bread variation (substitute 1/2 cup your rye flour and 1/2 cup white whole wheat for one cup of the AP flour–healthier and more flavor!
For the question on too hard bottom crusts, (which I prefer), try leaving the loaf on a parchment sheet for the whole baking period and it won’t be as dark or hard. I remove the parchment from the baking stone as soon as the loaf is firmed up enough to do so, so that the bottom will be more like the top and sides.
Thank you for giving the flour in ounces, which I didn’t find in the book!
I’m eager to hear about the breads in the second volume!

Ahhh, just in time. I’ve been experimenting with a couple of different formulas for bread bowls (to be filled with yummy soups – I’m an addict, don’t ya know), and the look of these loaves is exactly what I’m after. I’m going to get the dough going tonight so it’ll be ready for the weekend.You GO girl! I LOVE soup too and I’m on my way to check out your site. Thanks for sharing! ~ MaryJane

I love Jeff and Zoe! I’m hoping to get their new book for Christmas (I’ve certainly dropped enough hints!).

I appreciate having the measurements in weights here. Their books are great, but they are definitely a little more “casual” in terms of directions than I like my baking! Can’t help it when you’re a scientist…

I’ve been a fan of ABin5 for over a year now and have started on the new HBin5 though I’m reluctant to stray far from my favorite buttermilk dough in the first book….what’s not to love from dough that will give you wonderful loaves of traditional and cinnamon raisin bread!

I haven’t read all of the post here but did notice a mention of salt. I believe I read that Jeff and Zoe have reduced the salt in the new HBin5 book and as you chose to use less, they too suggest people use whatever amount they prefer.

I seldom use water any more, I went from the pizza stone and adding the water, to using a enamel covered Dutch oven, to simply using a couple of clay baking containers I bought from P.C. 15 or so years ago. One is standard loaf pan and one tall and round, similar to baking in a can …for a round loaf of bread. It is perfect for making small loaves to be used up in a couple of days. When I use the loaf pan I do two “balls” of dough and bake them side by side, perfect to keep one and share one without slicing a loaf in half.

And by all means, for all who can, buy the dough whisk here! I love my KitchenAid but I don’t love cleaning it when I don’t have to and it’s been my experience that it’s really not necessary with this dough. I find the large whisk perfect for mixing the dough and my smaller one gets its share of use with smaller batches of things like cookies, muffins, cupcakes, scones. They are two of the most often used tools in my kitchen…worth every penny!

ABin5 also has a terrific website and like everyone here at KAF, they are most generous in communicating with those who post on their site. It amazes me to find sites like these two…these are what make the internet better than I would have ever dreamed it would be. From all of the talented bakers here to Jeff and Zoe at ABin5 and even world renowned Dorie Greenspan…it’s truly amazing. I can’t speak for the other internet communities but the baking world is blessed by all of these people!

So true, LaJuana – I’ve found the online baking community to be a generous, warm and friendly group, all in all. Thanks for joining in the fun! PJH

I’m so glad to see so many fans of AB in 5. I’ve picked the book up several times but never actually purchased it. I consider the opinions on this blog a ringing endorsement and won’t hesitate to grab it the next time I see it!

Never thought y’all were hiding anything. It’s just……there’s a world of folks who read this blog that might not know about the original book (or the new one) that came up w/ this technique.

It’s so easy to forget to reference our sources. And so important to keep copyright real (as I’m sure you can appreciate w/ your own writings/photos). Thanks for the lovely blog here.

You’re welcome, Helen. I probably should have mentioned Jeff in the blog as well as the recipe. But as I said – we have a good working relationship, and he’s fine with sharing – we sell his book on our site, and will soon be selling both of them. We ALL benefit when we bake bread. And I always liked what Julia Child said – “If you don’t want to share your recipe, don’t write it down.” There are specific copyright laws covering a recipe’s written directions, but nothing legal for the ingredients.

Ethically, as recipe writers, we credit someone else if the ingredients we use are the same; if we change 2 or more, no need to credit, though it’s considered good manners to give a tip of the hat to the original author. Thus I cited Jeff and Zoe in the recipe; but simply didn’t think to do it in the blog, as I figure most people will get to the blog via the recipe once the blog sinks down beneath the weight of ever-oncoming new blogs. Anyway, that’s what happened. I’ve got their Spelt-Olive bread dough in the fridge right now – will bake it tomorrow and see how it does. Thanks for connecting – PJH

I may have goofed. I left my dough in the bowl for my stand mixer during the room temp. rise. Will I ruin it by transferring it before I put it in the refrigerator?

Oh no, Jenn, not at all! Yeast is endlessly forgiving. There’s seldom such a thing as “ruined” when you’re baking with yeast (unless you pour boiling water over it). Just cover and stick it in the fridge – you can keep it in the mixing bowl – if it’s proven large enough so far, it should be fine. Have fun – PJH

This recipe is marvellous and the easiest possible. It has never failed me and I bake a whole wheat version every week! The original recipe didn’t use instant yeast, but I noticed no difference in the two loaves.I am so glad that KAF is sharing these fabulous recipes. They can give anyone the confidence to bake (and everyone should 😉 )

It is just my husband and me too, and I love to make this bread when we have soup. It makes a big loaf, but don’t cut it in half, at least not until after it’s baked. It really is just as easy to make the whole recipe and not have to do it twice. You can freeze the second half and reheat it in foil; it will be just as good. Any leftover slices from either half make wonderful toast!

You mentioned using a shower cap over the container for the initial rise. Could it be used in the refrigerator, too? Sometimes, with both the Cambro and a Rubbermaid canister I also use, my dough will develop an alcohol smell and flavor — not yeasty, but alcohol-y, even in just 2 or 3 days — and I’ve wondered if I should use a different top. I believe that both the Cambro and my particular Rubbermaid are considered NOT air tight, so I don’t know what the problem is.

Thanks for a great blog!

Sure, I use those cheap, giveaway shower caps everywhere. You can get them at the dollar store for like 10/$1.00. Your dough doesn’t have to be covered airtight; just enough that it doesn’t develop a dry crust. Alcohol is the result of yeast growing too fast; not sure why yours might be doing that. But give our hotline a call, 802-649-3717 – they talk with folks about odd yeast things all the time, so they might have a handle on it. PJH

I want to make this, but I always add flax seed to my breads instead of the oil could I still add that? and I would love to add the White whole wheat flour to it..could I add a cup of that and would that be beneficial enough or would I need to add a bit more.. my hopes it to make it not even seem like the wheat is in there for the kids. thanks

Gina, go ahead and add the flax. Experiment with the white wheat – start by substituting it for 1/3 of the all-purpose and working your way up from there if it gets the kids’ approval… Any amount is beneficial. PJH

Someone mentions baking this in a dutch oven. How would I do this in my cast iron dutch oven?

Same as any Dutch oven, Maren – skim through these comments, you’ll find lots of good tips. Most people like to use parchment as a sling, and lower the bread into the hot oven that way. I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure it would work just fine. PJH

Would I need to do anything different…we built a outdoor brick pizza oven. Cooking times?

Cheryl, I’d think it might cook much faster, though if you put it in a falling oven (lowering, cooling temperature), it might be about the same. Give it a try – you’ll probably need to do one test loaf to nail the time exactly. Good luck – PJH

Made this tonight for the first time. A beautiful loaf. My friend & neighbor said she LOVED this one better than my sourdough loaves.I prefer the twangy sour, but was super impressed with the ease, appearance and flavor.
To up the nutrition, I used a mix of unbleached AP and unbleached white whole wheat and no one was the wiser. Will make again for gifts.

Donna, how much white wheat did ou use? Just curious how much you subbed, and no one noticed… PJH

I have alternately used a baking pan with water or just a apray bottle filled with water to provide steam.

I fill the baking pan with 1 inch of hot water and place it in the oven as it preheats, so the oven fills with steam.

Or if I’m feeling lazy, as I put the bread in I spritz the oven walls and floor with the spray bottle – but I have an all metal oven with no window, so there’s no danger – and the oven has to be sparkling clean.

I’m not commenting on the bread, although it looks fabulous. I am commenting on KAF all purpose flour, and I wanted to do it publicly. Forgive me for intially being skeptical about “what could the difference REALLY be between KAF all purpsose and other brands? I mean, ap flour is ap flour, right?” Those were my uninformed thoughts. So when KAF was on sale, I bought a 5 lb bag. And then I put it to the test. I made your Chocolate Snaps from the Cookie Companion, hoping for a cookie like Nabisco Chocolate Wafers ($4.49 for a 9oz package in my local store in NY.) I made a batch with KAF all purpose and a batch with a store brand all purpose. And….. the KAF was smoother. It felt better in my mouth. The dough was easier to work with. It tasted…nicer, smoother is the word that keeps coming to my mind. Just better. So I am sold that KAF is really better than other flours. It is worth paying more for it.

The Chocolate Snaps were better than I had hoped for and better than the Nabisco wafers and not full of chemicals. I loved them, as did my family. I tweaked the recipe slightly using KAF ingredients – instead of 3/4 c of cocoa I used 1/2 c double dutched dark cocoa and 1/4 c black cocoa. Fabulous!

I am a big fan of KAF, I have bought many items from the catalog and love the specialty things that I can’t get elsewhere. And if you ever stop selling your white whole wheat I will be in serious trouble because it is my go-to everyday flour for almost everything (including chocolate chip cookies, banana bread & pancakes. The family doesn’t know they’re eating more healthfully. They just love it.)

So forgive my being skeptical about all purpose. It was great to find out that I was wrong! Thanks for a great product!

Bridgid, I’m SO glad your skepticism has been dashed – we love it each time a baker discovers for herself that there IS a difference, it’s not just marketing hype. We buy the best wheat, have the tightest milling specs in the industry, and we stick by them assiduously; the other guys don’t. Simple as that. In this case, at least, you get what you pay for. I always say, who among us can afford the best car in the world, or the biggest diamond? But the best bag of flour? A lot more attainable. I’ve loved KA since I was in college, and am happy I ended up working here so I could see from inside that the good flour is backed up by a good business owned by a whole bunch of good people – us, 167 of us at the moment! So, thanks for sharing here – I’ve forwarded your comment to our sales team, so they can show it to the supermarket folks they sell to. The customers speak – supermarket buyers listen. And you’ve spoken beautifully here – thank you! And glad those wafer cookies came out – black cocoa is cool, huh? PJH

Thank you for suggesting I call your hot line concerning why my wet dough bread sometimes was becoming alcohol-y, not yeasty, in the refrigerator after just 2 or 3 days. Frank put out the idea of wild yeasts in our kitchen. Normally a nice contribution to bread, but in our particular case, not. Our house has a mold problem that has not been resolved. We are running HEPA air filters in the meantime which are wonderful, but evidently not getting rid of enough airborne bad guys on certain days (perhaps after a rainy spell). His suggestion was to stick to conventional breadmaking, with its shorter rise prior to baking, rather than refrigerated wet doughs until our mold is eliminated.

So, this is a heads up! We know the mold is very bad for our own health, but I never thought about it affecting our bread! Of course.

(I still love your idea of the shower caps – at the dollar store! – and look fwd to getting a nice supply!)

I made this today and it looks like it has risen properly but I just realized that I forgot the salt!!!! Is this going to be a problem for this bread??? I am getting ready to bake a portion of it, I am very upset with myself that I forgot the salt can anyone tell me what problems this may cause.

No problem, Patti – it’ll just taste “flat.” Tuscan bread is made without salt because they serve it with salty cured meats and cheeses; just be sure to serve with salted butter, or something aggressively flavorful, to hide the fact the bread has no salt… PJH

hub and I used to bake bread all the time, BK (before kids). I’ve made this twice, but the loaves are flatter than we’d like. Terrific ciabatti, but not so great for taller loaves for PB&Js.

Made it once with wh wh flour, added a bit of water (maybe 2T). Tasty, easy to handle, but still short.

Is height of finished loaf related to water content? You might want to try baking it in a 2 1/2quart covered casserole dish. That will help contain the spread and give you a higher rise, better for those pb and J’s. Mary @ KAF

I just pulled my first loaf out of the oven, and it is delicious. I was too lazy to slash the bread, and neglected to add the steam, and it still was a fantastic loaf of bread. So so simple. Thank you, PJ! I can’t wait to make another with the dough that’s waiting in my fridge…

We have made two half-batches batches so far, because I don’t have room for a humongous bucket in my fridge.

The first was exactly to the letter of the recipe, using weights instead of cups. It made fantastic ciabatti and a big baguette.

Second batch I used 1 cup of whole wheat and the balance of flour (to one pound).

But hub likes a taller loaf. Any advice for getting it taller instead of so spread out? Is it too wet?

great recipe to play with–I love kneading and used to bake a lot BK (before kids) but don’t have bandwidth for the mess or the planning it requires. This recipe seemed perfect. But we need bread for sandwiches and can’t use milk in baking. any ideas?

Hi – Adding whole wheat will always results in a shorter, flatter loaf. And yes, a dough that’s gone a bit too far towards the slack (wet) end will result in a flatter loaf, too. If you strike just that right balance, you’ll get a nice, round, high-rising loaf; try adding 1/4 cup less water next time, OK? See if that does the trick. Good luck – PJH

I gave up on making bread, they were all terrible. I looked at the King Arthur site to see what recipes they had and found an easy bread recipe made in the food processer. Winner! First time I ever made a decent loaf of bread. When I saw this recipe I had to try it, AND LET ME TELL YOU, IT WORKS PERFECTLY!!. My bread looks just like the picture, I was elated. I couldn’t believe I made that bread. I was so excited that I had to send pictures of the loaves to friends via my cell. I would only add that maybe it could use a little bit more salt. Although the inside is soft and the outside is just crunchy enough, it is a little tasteless. But that all goes away when I dip it into my pasta sauce, or make toast with butter, and life is good again. I can’t thank you enough for this recipe. I trust the King Arthur company wholeheartedly with their recipes and fine quality products. I look forward to new recipes in the future. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, I’m now the envy of my group of friends!!!!

Sharon, thanks so much for sharing your enthusiasm with us – and your bread success with your friends! Feel free to increase the salt by 1/2 teaspoon – some people prefer saltier loaves, some fairly unsalted, so I usually go right down the middle… PJH

I’m so excited to try this! This will be my first yeast bread experience. I have two questions. First, I was unclear on how many loaves I can make from this recipe. Second, what are the risk of causing damage to my oven? If I use a pan of hot water should I be OK? Thank you so much!

You’ll make 3 or 4 smallish loaves, Jana; depending on what size chunk of dough you scoop out. And a pan heating in the oven, with hot water poured into it, should be just fine. Follow the directions – I’m sure you’ll have a great experience and end up with wonderful bread. Good luck – PJH

I’ve followed the recipe as exactly as possible, but the crumb is coming out slightly dense and uniform without those large holes you show in the photos. Would a longer rise just before baking make it lighter and more open? Or, is my humid environment (Florida) causing it?

Tough to say, Jim; yeast has a mind of its own. A longer rise might help; and make sure your oven is as hot as it says, and that you don’t neglect to add the hot water in the pan on the lower rack. Also, you could try spritzing the loaf with water just before putting it into the oven. I seem to get bigger holes the longer I let the dough rest in the fridge – try baking it after 5 or 6 or 7 days in the fridge, see what happens. Good luck – PJH

I have made the dough for this artisan bread and can’t wait to actually bake it. It seems that you do not need to preheat the stone at 500
for one hour. I was just wondering why?

Just because I think 500°F for an hour is overkill and a waste of energy, Cheryl. I get fine results using the preheat method as written – but of course, feel free to heat the stone longer and hotter, if you like. It should be able to take it just fine. PJH

Great idea! I gonna try it this weekend.
I haven’t got any luck on bread yet, always not rise enough and hard as stone (my husband said it can kill a bird if we throw at them…). Wish me luck this time. =)

I have tried making bread (both wheat and white) and never felt I had done well. I have both books by Jeff and Zoe. I can say now I do a wonderful bread in both. It is so easy. Thank you so much for these receipes.

For Homa – I always use parchment paper for baking and start most of my breads at 500 degrees. The parchment paper gets a little brown around the edges but it doesn’t burn.

I love KAF and wish I could bake for a living. Sadly, I am only a weekend baker; however, we have not purchased bread for years because of my weekend bread baking. I’m not sure I could eat store-bought bread anymore! Thanks for all the great recipes and I will definitely be stirring this one up tonight.

Incidentally, I made your favorite fruitcake last weekend and it was delicious. I substituted my favorite dried fruits (dried blueberries, cherries, apricots and cranberries), left out the candied cherries and included dates. I don’t like regular fruitcake but this was superior.

Thanks for letting us know about your fruitcake, Anne – and your bread – and thanks for sharing that pachment hint. I’ve set parchment on fire – but only by putting it (inadvertently) over the gas flame on our stovetop. Whoooooopssss….. PJH

OK, I’ve bought the covered dough bucket; the dough stirrer-upper stick; the SAF yeast with the cool storage container and measuring spoon…and a pizza stone – and have just mixed up my very first batch of dough. Um…but I just HAD to get creative and used AP flour (5 cups) and some oat flour (2 1/2 cups) – I noticed the dough was dry, so I added an extra teaspoon of water. Everything else I left the same as the instructions. So, what havoc will I go through because of my walk on the wild side use of oat flour?? 🙂 It’s rising very nicely in its new bucket…
I LOVE KAF website and the fact that most commenters here get a personal reply! I, too, wish I could bake all the time, but that’s one reason I love the holiday season! (Too cold to ride my horse, so I can stay in and bake Christmas gifts for my friends and neighbors!)

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Valerie
Greenville, SC

And happy holidays to you, Valerie. I expect your bread won’t rise as high (it’ll spread sideways rather than rise), nor have as crisp a crust, but it should be very moist inside, and quite tasty. Let us know what happens, OK? PJH

I’ve made 3 batches of this recipe with part whole wheat and it does NOT get dense or flat. The crumb stays even throughout the loaf, and while it doesn’t have the airiness and big bubbles of the all-white loaf, my kids and our au pair (who has only eaten square white bread from a plastic bag in the 1.5 years she’s been with us) all love it. Seriously, this is the first bread with a whole grain that has passed her lips. That’s an endorsement.

I use one heaping cup of whole wheat and then the balance is white flour (I use a scale). thanks!

Linda, the dough should double in size after about 2 hours. It sounds like you’re right on track. If the dough feels dry (because of the whole wheat flour), then you can add a few tablespoons of additional water. Happy baking! Kye@KAF

I tried this a couple weeks ago, with 2 cups KA White WWheat. Baked it after about 4 days. It came out flavorful, but no big holes in it.

I just mixed up another batch, by weight, and with 2 lb flour and 24 oz (by weight) water it was a dry crumbly mass, took another cup and a half at least to get a dough that resembled the picture. Maybe the scale is off (or the guy running it), we’ll see next weekend when I try to bake this stuff.

It’s always a balancing act, Shawn. If you used whole wheat, that absorbs water more slowly. Mix it up, then let it sit for 20 minutes, then mix again to see the “real” consistency before adjusting with more liquid. Also, this time of the year (winter), flour can be quite dry, and will absorb more liquid. Should be interesting watching it progress in the fridge. PJH

Have been baking this bread since the Jeff’s book came out. A loaf would quickly be divested of all the crust as we would cut each end then the sides and then the top. Yum. We now make all our loaves about the size of a large hard roll. We call them “personal loaves” and we get to eat tons of crust!

Bridget,
I simply MUST have the recipe for Chocolate Snaps. It is not on the KAF website and I do not own the Cookie Companion. I have been having an increasingly difficult time finding those cookies in my local stores and when I do find them they are close to $5 a box. My kids LOVE the icebox cake (AKA Zebra cake) made by stacking those thin chocolate wafers with layers of whipped cream and chilling. I often thought I should be able to make them. I’d appreciate the help.

Pretty well – didn’t rise high, it was a flatter bread, but you’d expect that. The 100% whole wheat honey sandwich bread is probably the best I’ve ever made. Killer easy recipe. Looks like the book is going to be another hit for them – we’ll have it in stock next week, blog to follow in February, I believe… PJH

I just bought two pizza stones for my two ovens. However, I was wondering if it is alright to use the pizza stones for pizza and then for bread. Since the stone is porous would it keep ahold of the pizza flavors? Should I designate one specifically for bread and the other for pizza? I just don’t want to make a french bread and have it contain pepperoni flavors! Also, any tips on washing the stone? I have heard from others that the stone gets discolored, but I am expecting that is natural considering the heavy use mine will soon be under.

Thanks again for your help! I have had the book for a few months now (Artsian Bread…) but since I was finishing up my degree I had no time to bake! Now I am in full mode (and my husband and children are loving it!).

Depends what pizza stones you bought, Laura – some are washable with soap, but most aren’t. I usually put anything I’m baking not on the stone, but on a piece of parchment. Then I put the pizza, bread, whatever onto the stone WITH the parchment – prevents any spills from hitting the stone, and makes it easy to get stuff into and out of the oven without sticking. And I’ve never noticed any significant difference with/without parchment, so why not use it? Hope this helps – PJH

I bought two of the larger pizza stones from KAF (of course!). I had not thought of using parchment, but that makes sense since it would make clean up a snap. I will give it a try! I am going to be baking all weekend, and cannot wait to bake these wonderful loaves of bread to give to friends along with cookies, cinnamon buns, and other goodies!

Thanks again for taking the time to respond to my questions!

Laura

OK, then you don’t want to wash them with soap – if they get crusty, just wash in hot water with a scrubbie or steel wool. But parchment is really a life-saver… Enjoy – PJH

I use the last of this dough to make the boule. I thought that the flour left somewhat of a bitter taste on the crust. I would just rather cover the dough to keep it from becoming dry. Is it okay to cover rather than using so much flour.?

Sure, Cheryl – I’ve done it without covering and without flour, too. This is a VERY friendly dough… PJH

I made this dough early Saturday and baked two loaves for Sunday dinner. WOW did they come out great!! I plan on using the remaining dough for a pizza or foccacio.
Side note: When I showed my son the receipe for the Chocolate snaps with the chocolate whipped cream he said that instead of Zebra cake it would be a Black Bear cake. What an imagination.

I’m concerned about the use of parchment paper. Anybody who’s read Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” knows at what temperature paper ignites. Does parchment paper ignite at a higher temperature than regular paper?

When making a pizza, do you let the dough rest first, then top it just before putting it onto the stone? Our parchment papaer is safe up to 500*F. I like to prebake my crustfor about 5 minutes, then put the toppings on it and finish baking it for about 5 to 8 minutes. Mary @ KAF

I’ve made a few no-knead loaves, and they’ve turned out fine except for one problem: while baking, different areas rise at different rates. So, if I’m making a round boule (I usually cut an X at the top), it doesn’t stay round. Some are pear shaped, others bulge into free-form shapes. Any ideas for getting more symmetry? Thx. It sounds like there are hot spots in your oven. Try turning it a couple of times during the first 1o to 15 minutes. Mary@KAF

Made this bread for the first time yesterday, couldn’t believe how easy and delicious it was! Baked another loaf early this morning and ran it over to my neighbor as soon as it came out of the oven. It was hot & crusty and smelled mouth- watering good- took a lot of willpower to let it out the door! MmmmmmmMmmmm-Merry Christmas indeed!

I’m curious about the bread recipes, I’ve noticed you don’t use bread flour but instead use AP flour. Why is that? I’ve always thought bread flour would be better, yielding better loaves. I love the blog and the recipes, thank you! This one sounds very good, I’m going to try it.

Jeanine, other companies’ flour, you’d want to use bread flour. But King Arthur All-Purpose Flour is actually the equivalent, protein-wise, of other national brands’ bread flour. So it’ll work just fine in most bread recipes. Bread flour generally gives a chewier loaf, as well as one that might rise a bit higher; personally, I prefer the texture of bread made with AP flour. Our AP flour is the equivalent of the flour European bakers use for bread, protein-wise; so you can certainly make any kind of bread with it. I generally reserve the bread flour for whole-grain breads that need a “boost.” Hope this explanation, scattered though it is at 6 a.m., helps! PJH

I baked my first loaf last night, after 72 hours in the fridge. Delicious, but I’m hoping for a bigger lift next time. Other than longer time in the fridge (and I’ve still got dough left, so ready on that) what can I do? It seems like even after an hour out of the refrigerator the dough is still cold. I was worried about over proofing so went ahead and baked it but can we do a longer pre-baking rise? Is it OK to put a cold loaf directly into the oven? Would this be a time to use the old instant read thermometer?

Sure, let it rise longer, Abby. Did you do the hot water thing? Try spritzing the bread itself with warm water before putting it into the oven, too. Did you substitute any whole wheat flour? If so, that would affect its rise. You can put a cold loaf directly into the oven (you mean, without letting it rise?) – but it won’t help it rise more. And yes, you can use an instant-read thermometer to measure the interior temperature of the bread when you think it’s done – it should be at least 190°F. Keep trying – you’ll figure out what works for you, in your kitchen, in your oven. Good luck – PJH

I am trying to use more whole grains in my baking (I bought the wonderful Whole Grain Baking book) can this be modified to use White WW? I am new to the art of baking and was just wondering. I plan to work my way through that cookbook this year (kind of like the Julie/Julia project) although you have more recipes then I can do in a year…maybe two years : )

I got a gift card to KA for Christmas from my mom….don’t know where to start…the catalog is great but overwhelming : )Try it! Just increase the liquid by a tablespoon or two as whole grains are more absorbent than all purpose. Molly @ KAF

I made this on 12/23 and pulled the bread out to bake on 12/24. I want to share my experience.

The dough was easy. Shaping the loaves was easy. I preheated the oven with the pizza stone and metal jelly roll pan. Since we were also making meatballs, my husband (an engineer who has taken thermodynamics) pulled out the metal pan and replaced it with a Pyrex pan.

I put my loaves on the stone. I pour the water in the dish. BANG. The Pyrex shattered–no matter how hot the water, it’s not gonna be 450 degrees hot. I put in a metal pan and added the water and baked with the pyrex bits in the oven.

The bread was fine. I found the flavor a bit flat. My girls didn’t love it, and my guests were generally polite about it. I’m making the rest of it tonight and I added my new pizza flavor to it…we’ll see if it helps. And, yes, I did use a metal pan tonight. 😀

So, folks…be careful when you do a steam bath.

Yes – glass is SO not appropriate, even Pyrex… As for taste – the longer it sits, the better the flavor. Next time, give it a few days at least. Or try it after 5 or 6 days… you’ll really taste the difference. Yeast loves to take its time… PJH

We made our first batch and my wife baked a loaf after the two hour rise. The loaf was very good, but a little pale (I don’t know who long it baked.) for my taste. A few days later, I turned the remaining dough out and made two ciabatta loaves. I wa not fussy about the temperature, but left the loaves until they were nicely browned. Result: Two spectacular loaves with big holes in the crust with shiny ‘eyes.’ Loaves as good as our ideal loaves from Il Fornaio. They were crusty and chewy. We have not had that success with subsequent batches / loaves. One of areas of concern is that the loaves, regardless of shape, don’t seem to spring as much as we’ve been led to expect. We are trying to analyze what might be going wrong. The bread still has good flavor, but the crumb doesn’t have the big holes, nor is the crust as thick and crunchy. Today we baked a ciabatta loaf from a new batch of dough (made yesterday). Again, great flavor, but small holes. Before the dough went into the oven, I checked the temperature of the pizza stone with my infrared thermometer. The stone temperature was 448 degrees F. Since our house is on the cool side, could it be that the one hour rest is insufficient? That, and the fact that the superb loaves were made with an older dough are the only two differences that we can discern.

Second question: I received a second pizza stone for Christmas. There was an article in the LA Times Food Section on achieving a pizzeria pizza at home by lining the area to the sides and above the pizza stone with firebrick to create the “brick oven” environment. Could / would inserting the second pizza stone on the rack abouve the baking stone provide any advantage? (I’m definitely going to try adding firebrick on the sides the next time I make pizza.)

We purchased both the Artisan bread books, but are trying to perfect the basic recipe before moving on. Thank you so much for your help.

RalphHi Ralph,
Let’s start with the easy question. Yes, you can add a second stone above your first stone to help mimic the brick oven. Radiant heat from above will help with even baking and browning. Now, for the trickier part. Because there can be a few different reasons for the results you are seeing, we suggest you give our baker’s hotline a call, so that they can ask questions and troubleshoot directly with you. Sorry we can’t offer a one-stop-shopping answer right now, but do give them a call, and they will be happy to assist. ~ MaryJane

I’ve been baking bread for 25 yrs. Have used so many of your recipes and this is the BEST one so far. It never fails to turn out the best bread ever. I’ve gotten rave reviews from my family and friends who are very particular about their bread…love it!

I’m the neighbor who received the bread from Anne Tremblay and yes it was hot, crunchy and soooo good right out of her oven. I’m looking forward to making my own now that the hoilday rush is over. Thanks Anne and KAF for the recipe.

The comment on the superiority of KAF was right on! Living in another state I used another brand of unbleached flour (which was the only one available at the time). It was good, but when we moved to NH more than 25 years ago I switched to KAF and have been happy ever since. I recommend it to everyone who likes to bake – and now even my daughter in that other state is able to get it in her store. One day her husband did the shopping and bought another brand and was educated in the difference – he won’t do that again! I used to use specific bread flour for my breads, but now regular KAF is my flour of choice.

I made this bread this weekend – my first experiment with no-knead bread! – and it was wonderful. Crusty outside, tender crumb, lots of holes, and very good flavor. And it couldn’t have been easier! Only thought is that I weighed my flour and followed your excellent instructions exactly, and my dough (after 24 hours and 48 hours in the fridge was very slack. Much too soft to shape into any kind of ball, or to slash – I started with a flattish round (about 1/2 inch high) and ended up with a loaf that looked almost exactly like your 4th picture (‘And this…’) I made a half recipe and used 12 ounces of water. Any thoughts? Thanks – GREAT recipe.Did you weigh your water, too? Mary@ KAF

I really liked the idea of no knead bread as I’m always pressed with time. However, I usually eat sandwich bread only for lunches and snacks. Can this recipe be used for baking sandwich bread in a loaf pan or a pullman pan? If so, how do I adjust for the amount and baking time? If I want a more tender bread by adding just a couple of tablespoon of oil or butter, or substitute it some milk, would that affect the rise or not work as well? Thanks!!!Take a look at Jeff and Zoe’s book, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, for a no knead sandwich loaf. Molly @ KAF

Appreciate all KAF does. I am going to prepare this recipe today for baking next weekend. Can I use a banneton with this no-knead bread?

You can try, Paul, but it might be too sticky. I tried it with a whole-grain no-knead bread, and the dough was so sticky it got into the cracks and stuck no matter how well I floured it; if you try it and it sticks, just re-shape, and let it rise again on a pan or piece of parchment, no harm done. Good luck – PJH

I finally got to try this recipe over the weekend. I made the dough Saturday. It rose rapidly at room temperature, and I had visions of overflow in the fridge overnight. However, the dough behaved and stayed well within it’s designated space. I pulled out some of the dough Sunday to make a baguette style loaf. It was so nice to simply take dough out of the fridge, shape it, and leave it to rise. It didn’t rise much before baking, but more than doubled in the first minutes of baking. Instead of imperiling my glass oven door by pouring water into a pan (thank you prior posters for the warning!) I spritzed the loaf with water immediately before putting it into the oven. The result was a very crunchy, crackly crust. The loaf was gone before the night was over.

One problem I did have was that the crust started to burn before the center was quite ready. Should I adjust my temperature down a few degrees overall, or maybe turn the temperature down after 20 minutes or so and bake a little longer? I’m inclined to try the latter. Do you think it would still have the crusty exterior if I did?Hi Becky,
Try the high heat first, lowering it after 15-20 minutes. You want a nice hot oven to give you oven spring and get the steam going. Drop the temp by 25°, and continue the bake until the bread is done. Hope this helps. ~ MaryJane

I tried to read all the comments, questions, and answers, but I didn’t see this one. I hope I’m not repeating a question.

I mixed up a batch of this dough last night and it’s in the refrigerator right now. I can’t wait to bake a loaf for my girls to enjoy when they get home from school!

My question involves the 6 quart container and lid. I purchased the very one you used for this blog entry. Jeff and Zoe’s book says not to use an air-tight container. I can’t figure out whether I should put the lid on all the way, or leave it slightly open. Can you clarify?

I am making the dough now for dinner tonight and tomorrow. I have all of the ingredients and a 6 qt bucket from KAF. My question has to do with the storage of the dough – is it alright to put on the lid that comes with the bucket for storage in the fridge? I am a bit confused on the storage, because it says in the 5 minutes a day book to not use an air tight lid, but this could be just for the rising portion. Also, in the book it says thad doubling and tripling is possible. If I were to do this, what bucket size would be required (from KAF of course!)? Thanks in advance for the clarification!

Hi Anne – This recipe, as is, can rise to within a couple of inches of the top of the 6-quart bucket. A little mental math tells me that the medium flour bucket we offer is about 9 quarts, so that wouldn’t allow you to double the recipe. The large flour bucket is about 22 quarts, so you could easily triple your recipe – although the bucket would take up most of your fridge. If you have a BIG bowl, try doubling the recipe, letting it rise, then knocking it down and putting it in the 6-quart. As it rises, keep knocking it down; it should stop rising within a day, at which time it will maybe fit in the 6-quart bucket? Sorry, just not sure… Good luck – PJH

Thanks PJ for your answer. Just to make sure though – the recipe as written above is what I am making now. Is this alright to store in the 6 qt bucket with the lid in the fridge? (Also, I have 2 refrigerators in my kitchen so I am not concerned with the space the bigger bucket would take up!)

Thanks again!

That’s right, the original recipe will fit in the 6-quart bucket. And lucky you – TWO fridges! 🙂 PJH

Wonderful bread and so easy. I made 2 good sized loaves from my first batch. The loaves had a nice crisp crust when they came from the oven, but after cooling the crust was soft. I did bake them 30 minutes on parchment on a pizza stone and had a pan of water below. They tasted great, but why did the crust soften quickly?

Concetta, the moisture remaining inside the loaf migrates out to the crust, where it hits the cold air and condenses – thus making the crust moist, not crisp. To help combat this, when the bread is done, turn off the oven, crack it open a few inches, and let the bread cool completely in the turned-off oven. PJH

This has become my husband’s favorite bread! I’ve been away from home quite a lot due to an illness in the family and wondered how I could keep him supplied in my absence… Of course, the answer was to show him how to make it himself! This bread is so easy to mix, shape and bake, he’s had no problem making perfect, crusty loaves with no help at all. Hmmmmmm,
“See honey, if you can do that, I’m sure you can do the laundry too”………..”

Anne, maybe he doesn’t get as much personal satisfaction out of clean socks as he does out of hot bread. I know – hide most of his socks. Dirty socks (necessity) can be the mother of invention (becoming friends with the washing machine). 🙂 PJH

Haha…hiding his socks wouldn’t work either. He’s one of those guys who could take the washing machine apart and put it back together again but has no clue about sorting clothes…..No real complaints here -any man who is willing to bake a fresh loaf of bread to welcome his wife home is OK in my book!
Seriously tho’, I do have a question about getting the bottom of this loaf a bit crustier…..I pre-heat my pizza stone in a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes and bake the bread on a piece of parchment paper until it’s dark golden brown (about 30-35 minutes) but sometimes the bottom seems just a tad underdone. Any suggestions?

Anne, how about turning the loaf upside-down with about 10-15 minutes to go? That should work… And I’m so glad your homecoming was marked by fresh bread. You’re right, that’s worth not sorting socks any day! PJH

My bread is coming out more dense. Not very many holes. I would rather have it with the holes. Why is this happening??

Could be a tiny bit too much flour. Could be a not-hot-enough oven. Could be you didn’t leave it in the fridge long enough for big holes – it takes probably 3 days or so, minimum, for significant holes. Give it another try – several more tries. Practice really does make perfect, in this case p and the practice loaves are tasty, right? 🙂 PJH

I see that the Artisan flour has ascorbic acid in it, and you also carry ascorbic acid so that a pinch can be added to baguettes. Would this bread benefit from ascorbic acid, or would it just tire out the yeast because of how long it sits in the fridge?

It wouldn’t tire out the yeast, Deb – I don’t think. It just makes the atmosphere more conducive for the yeast to grow and thrive, so I’d think the yeast would be healthier, live longer, and reproduce more? Try adding about 1/4 teaspoon ascorbic acid and see what happens… PJH

Some recipes call for baking bread on a pizza stone. Have you priced them?

$50.00 at fancy cooking shops. I use garden shop clay flower pot

dishes 12″ dia. x1″ deep for $7.00 each!

So long as they’re guaranteed food safe, won’t leach chemicals or unknown toxins into your food, and don’t include any lead, you’re all set, Donald. But do be careful about products that aren’t designed for food preparation; check with the manufacturer about exactly what they’re made from, OK? PJH

My dough is not rising. It’s been sitting at room temperature for 1.5 hours and so far not luck. The only thing I can think of is that I made it with King Arthur Bread Flour. Could that be causing the problem? The other thing is that I used an opened packet of yeast that’s been in my fridge for about a month. Would that effect it?

Laura, it’s no doubt the yeast. You didn’t use really hot water, did you? If you used lukewarm, and the dough is quite soft as described, and you didn’t use too much salt (1 tablespoon), and you used enough yeast (1 1/2 TABLEspoons); then it would have to be that the yeast has died. What kind of packet are you talking about? ONe of the little packets from the grocery store only holds 2 teaspoons to begin with. Was it Fleischmann’s? We recommend SAF instant yeast. Hopefully from what I’ve said here you can figure out what happened. Don’t be afraid to try again – also, please call our Baker’s Hotline, 802-649-3717, if you’d like to talk this over with one of our bakers. Good luck – PJH

I have made several batches of this bread with GREAT success……just recieved my kaf order, wondered if i can add the harvest grains blend into the dough? or will the longer dough storage time affect the texture of the grains??The grains will be fine but the texture of the rye and wheat flakes may suffer a bit but I would give it a try. It sounds delicious! Molly @ KAF

In December, I received this site/recipe from a friend and have since made 3 batches. I LOVE it! and have passed the site along to several other friends. One reported back to me that his wife says, “Why didn’t we ever know about this before!” Next batch I’m going to try adding fresh Rosemary. I also want to try some fresh dill in another batch. Thank you so much — I am enjoying your site and my new pizza stone and the dough whisk, as well. Kudos!

I tried no-knead bread about 2 years ago and was not at all impressed. Yesterday I made up a batch following your instructions, and this afternoon I baked my first loaf. I am seriously happy with the outcome, although my loaf seems a little small.
I am living in Germany, so have no IDEA what KAF is… I used standard bread flour. It is also only possible to buy small packets of instant yeast here… I have had many problems with my baking here, the baking powder is not the same strength I am used to. My question is (now that I have finished waffling on) – Does anyone know what would be the correct substitute over here for KAF? Is AP Flour, just the ordinary cake flour that we buy here?

In recipes calling for KAF All-Purpose, Type 550 would be the closest match. Frank @ KAF.

For those who have asked about whole wheat–I thought I’d share my first experiment. I used half KA all purpose flour and half KA organic white whole wheat. I added one extra tablespoon of water. Other than that I followed the recipe; I weigh my ingredients. I had to switch out my beater blade for the dough hook when I was mixing because the dough was climbing up and getting stuck where the blade attaches to the Kitchen Aid. The dough hook has the large flat piece at the top that solved this problem. This was a problem I had with all all-purpose flour too so I don’t think it had anything to do with the whole wheat. I let it mix a little longer than usual–I had multiple things happening in the kitchen. The verdict–the dough rose beautifully and baked up well. I made a large round loaf and the crust was just perfect. I’ll add another comment when I try with more whole wheat and less all-purpose flour.Thanks so much for sharing your results, I’m sure many folks will find it helpful. Keep up the good work! ~ MaryJane

I was hoping to find, others who did not have the success they were expecting. I am very new to baking and this is my first attempt at bread, (not baked in a bread machine).
Every one seems to have made great bread.
I made the dough, was very happy with the way it took off, growing and big holes, looked just like the photos. Placed in refrig. than tryed baking a loaf, next day.
I don’t have a baking stone yet, but do have a cast iron dutch oven.
When I took my dough out it still looked like the photos, (so far so good). But my dough just sat there, didn’t spred out didn’t rise.
Preheated oven and dutch oven. Bread did not have that “oven spring”the bread came out the same size as when it went in to the pot. It is a little bit gummy, small even holes. no nice big ones. Also no “singing” or crackling noise as it cooled.
I preheated the pot with the lid on would that make a difference? Should I heat lid and pot appart?
Should I just leave the dough to rest for the amount of time given Or is there away to know when it is ready to bake?
I ready want to learn to make bread.

We really want to aid you in your quest for bread baking success. This may be a good opportunity to call our Baker’s Hotline (802-649-3717) and chat with a baker. You can also access baking help by calling the customer service number at 800-827-6836 and ask to speak with a baker. Irene @ KAF

I love making this bread and almost always have some in the fridge waiting for me. When I finish one batch, I start another. Most of the time I get it all right (shaping, resting, baking at a high temp with water in the broiler pan). But sometimes, the slashes I make close back up and the steam cannot get out without blowing out the side. Yes, the dough was quite wet, but, I’ve not had ANY success with ANY yeast bread until this method came along, so I am not sure just HOW wet it should be other than from your description and pictures.The pictures do a great job of showing what the texture of the dough should be. If your bread isn’t holding its shape, there’s either too much liquid in the dough or too much steam in the oven. Give us a call at the Baker’s Hotline and we’ll be happy to troubleshoot the recipe with you. Molly @ KAF

I made this bread last Friday, I love it! So easy! So crunchy! 2 of my kids loved it. The third one was out on a date both nights I baked it up and is a bit upset he only got 1 slice. I am making more today and putting in a bit of wheat.
AM also planning to make fudgies(see the cookie recipe section!). I Love having a day off!!

I’ve read through most of these posts and I have a few recommendations as someone who flopped at breadbaking at first, but then got the right books, advice and ingredients and have been doing well ever since.

1. If you are using a preheated pan to create steam, you need to add HOT water to the heated pan. Cold water or ice may give you a more violent looking reaction at first, but it’s just rapidly cooling the pan. Plus, if you spill some 200 degree water on your oven’s glass window, it’s not going to shatter. I use a cast iron pan set on the highest rack and bake on stone set on the lowest rack.

2. If you are not planning to bake with this dough the same day, you can cut the yeast in half. I bake a version of this that uses one teaspoon of yeast for over a pound of flour and it works great.

3. Make sure the dough has come to room temperature and that the yeast has “awakened” before you slash and bake. I it takes much more than an hour, but my kitchen is cooler than average and I use less yeast.

4. Handle the dough gently to avoid de-gassing it.

5. If baking in a Dutch oven, create a parchment sling and proof the dough in a frying pan. I sometimes us my 8 inch omlette pan – the sloped sides of the pan keep the loaf perfectly formed. Keeping it covered while it proofs is a little more complicated.

6. Use instant yeast. SAF instant yeast is awesome. If I had to pick one ingredient that made the biggest difference in my bread baking, it would have to be instant yeast. If you can’t find SAF instant, look for “rapid rise” or “bread machine” yeast in the grocery store.

Good luck. I just got my KAF dough bucket and I’m going to mix up a batch of this dough tonight or tomorrow so we can have fresh bread when we have dinner with friends on Saturday.Thanks for the tips, they’re terrific! Bread Machine yeast from your supermarket is instant yeast and is fine but we don’t recommend Rapid Rise yeast as it’s formulated for one good rise and doesn’t have the oomph for a second rise, which doesn’t give the dough time to develop the flavor. Molly @ KAF

I’m still new to baking bread and found your website to be full of wonderfull information. I can’t wait to to try the no-knead dough recipe. I have been using pre-ferments lately to try and get those great holes in my crumb.After seeing the pictures I think my next batch of bread will be the no-knead dough. Thanks for all the great information, keep it up.

I was so excited about baking this bread.. but sadly, the bottom and inside of the bread did not fully cook through even though I baked it for 30-35 mins. The top of the bread was nice and crusty. It was also quite flat. I wonder where I went wrong. I had alot of large holes in the bread though. Any idea where I went wrong? I can’t call your hotline because I’m from outside of US/Canada.HI Kimmy,
All ovens vary, so you’ll want to use an instant thermometer to take the internal temperature of the bread to be sure that it is done. You can use a meat thermometer too. For sandwich breads, the reading should be 190°F, for artisan breads and sourdoughs, 200-205°F. Hope this helps. ~ MaryJane

I was wondering if adding honey or sugar to the recipe would cause problems? I have already tried using about 1/3 KA what flour in this recipe and had some success. Would like to add honey to it to kick up the flavor, but not sure how that would interact with the long ferment time. Anyone already have a successful variation using the refrigerator no-knead technique?We haven’t tried honey in that recipe but give it a try and let us know. Molly @ KAF

I just got started doing this recipe and am trying the following approach. So far, I’ve had good results. Instead of using a rye flour in the mix, I use rye flour and caraway seed on the board when forming the loaf to rest/rise before going into the oven. Sufficient rye flour and caraway seed are embedded in the wet dough to provide plenty of flavor. If I want more flavor, I fold the dough over on itself one time, incorporating rye/caraway into the body of the loaf. Haven’t tried it yet, but I could see the same thing working with toasted wheat germ or a very coarse whole wheat flour. It seems to me you could “dress” the loaf with almost anything that would stick to it. There will be limits depending on what is being incorporated into the dough at this stage, but it does provide opportunity to “customize” each loaf while using the same basic dough recipe.

Fred, I LOVE this idea. I’m definitely going to try it – particularly the one fold, which would give it a lovely kind of swirl effect. Thanks so much for sharing – 🙂 PJH

Pre-bake
Question, if I want to pre-bake my bread and then freeze it ( so I can quickly heat it up in the oven and finish banking it)
How long would i have to bake the bread for?
This way i can bake all 4 loafs at the same time, freeze 3 and quickly have fresh bread when i need it. 😀To pre-bake (or par bake, in bakery terms) you’ll want to bake the loaves until they are puffed and no longer look doughy, but are not browned yet. Remove the 3 loaves and finish the 4th in the oven. When the 3 are completely cool to the touch, wrap well, label and freeze for about 4 weeks. Preheat the oven and finish the bake when you are ready. Hope this helps! ~ MaryJane

This seems like a ton of yeast for a no knead bread. I have made no knead breads with the tiniest amount of yeast with great success and a long long ferment. What do you think? Is all this yeast necessary?<Lots of yeast is used because of the short ferment times. It doesn't have time to multiply like it does with your long, long ferments. Your long, long ferments are also adding much marvelous flavor. Each has its place, and to each his own. Happy Baking! Mary@KAF

This looks wonderful – your photos on this site are always so excellent.
I just got my first shipment of semolina & italian style flour from KA today. Could I use the ISF, (or maybe a combination of ISF & semolina) for this recipe? I’m still a novice, but anxious to get in there & learn! 🙂
-Amy

Amy, a combination of ISF and semolina MIGHT work – but not the Italian flour alone, its protein is too low for a really strong, high rise. If you’re just beginning, why not follow the recipe as written the first time around? It’ll give you an idea of how the loaf should look, what the dough should feel like, etc. Then, once you get a little experience, try experimenting with different flours. Good luck – PJH

This was my first shot at making bread. This recipe is so easy and so tasty! I made a log style loaf of bread and it tastes great only a little denser than the picture. It probably only rose about 2/3’s of the amount pictured above. After reading some comments it seems that it may have been the flour I was using. I will definitely try the King Aurthor next time though! Thanks for the great recipe!

Ahhh!!! Somehow I forgot to add the salt. I baked a loaf and of course, we could tell right away what was amiss. The crust, however, was really amazing. I love this method. So, any suggestions for using the rest of this salt-free dough instead of just throwing it away and wasting it?? Is there any way I can still add salt to it at this point? I made the dough on Wednesday and it is now Monday. I would dissolve part of the salt called for (depending on how much dough is left) in a small amount of water and work it into the dough until thoroughly mixed in. athen bake as directed. Either that or serve the unsalted bread with butter and a garnish of fancy salt like Maldon or Fleur de Sel. Mary@ KAF

I stumbled on this recipe while looking for a cherry-chocolate chip bread recipe. It sounded great so I decided to try it … and to make one loaf into what I was originally trying to find, using about a third of the dough. Before the final rise, I kneaded in 2/3 c. dried cherries, 1/3 c. chocolate chips, and to sweeten it a bit further, 1 Tbs of chocolate milk powder. It wasn’t kneading so much as working in the extra ingredients. It was a bit wet, so knead on a well floured surface and work some of it into the dough. WOW, was this good. Don’t be afraid to lightly toast a slice – it tastes fabulous that way, and the chips didn’t melt into the toaster.

Thanks for sharing this delicious variation, Jim – there are S many things you can do with this versatile dough, both sweet and savory… PJH

How do I know when my bread is done?
I made this bread last weekend and it looked perfect, stuck in a easy read temperature gauge into the bottom crust and it read 190 degrees, somewhere online I read that 190 degrees bread should be done.
Now I read somewhere else that the reading should be 200-210 degrees.
My bread turned out a bit gummy inside, perfect outside.
Any help would be appreciated. 🙂 BrenYou are right, Bren. Most breads are done at 190 degrees unless it is a sweet bread. Then, it should read closer to 209 degrees. The thermometer really is the best way to tell. If you did not allow your bread to cool completely before cutting, it may seem underdone. Elisabeth @ KAF

PJ thank you so much for the wonderfully detailed instructions, they definitely take the intimidation factor out of bread baking.

I tried a little experiment this week with no-knead, knead, and slow-rise bread.

1) No-knead (this recipe)
I was surprised how easy and fast it was.
The result was very tasty; the family ate one slice of bread each.

2) Knead (Baking with Julia p 81)
This was about the same effort as above, but requires 10min of kneading in a machine
The result, the family loved it. The bread was much lighter. My son (3yrs) ate 5 large rolls.

3) Slow-Rise (Baking with Julia p 113)
This dough required a starter dough and “feedings” over two days.
The result was heavenly: crunchy crust and light inside. Much better than any bakery around here. The kids did not like it as much, but it was the clear favorite of my husband and me.

I found that kneading does make a big difference and the slow rise also gives the bread a wonderful taste and texture. I guess there are no short cuts when it comes to bread :0)

Actually, I make very tasty no-knead bread with great texture – in my opinion! While hand-kneading develops gluten with physical effort, no-knead bread’s long refrigeration develops gluten over time – without the physical input of hand-kneading. It’s interesting to see how the bread’s texture changes over the course of refrigeration for 1, 2, 3, or up to 8 or 9 days… The long refrigeration also develops bread’s flavor wonderfully, due to the yeast’s formation of lactic and organic acids – both flavor enhancers. Katrin, I’m glad you did those three experiments, so that you could try different methods and see the results, then choose your favorite. The wonderful thing about baking is there’s no right or wrong – just preferences. And we’re all free to choose our own. Thanks so much for sharing here – PJH

Can you freeze the dough and bake it later? I’m new to this baking stuff… could you be specific in your answer please? Thank you.

Yes, bread dough freezes fairly well for about 4 weeks or so. I’d let the shaped baguettes rise for maybe 30 minutes on a parchment-lined pan, then put the pan in the freezer. As soon as the loaves aren’t tacky, cover with plastic wrap, and let freeze fully. Wrap VERY WELL in plastic, then in foil; each one separately. To bake, unwrap, put on a pan, and let thaw at room temperature, tented with greased plastic wrap. Then let rise fully, and proceed with the recipe. I’d think you could also let the loaves thaw in the fridge overnight; again, you’d want to unwrap them and put them on a pan, covered. Hope this helps – PJH

I made the No Knead bread but found it too salty for our taste. Why is there so much salt used in this bread when it only calls for no more that 7 1/2 Cups of flour. That’s equivalent to 2 standard loaves of bread and in those recipes the salt used is 1 1/4 teaspoons. I for one do not plan on using that much salt again. It is too overpowering and really doesn’t do justice to the otherwise great bread

This is a case of “to taste,” Ruth – 7 1/2 cups of flour is about 2 1/2 loaves of bread (at 3 cups flour each). 2 1/2 loaves x 1 1/4 teaspoons would be 3 1/8, so seems 1 tablespoon is about right as far as scaling up. I think there’s a wide range of tolerances, when it comes to people’s taste buds and salt. I confess to liking saltier foods… so this bread tastes good to me. But no problem cutting the salt back, understanding it may simply rise more quickly. Enjoy – PJH

I tried the recipe from the NYT a few years back and was unhappy with the results and nearly destroyed my le creuset pot in the process. This recipe gives me hope–I like how you use parchment paper and a baking stone. My creusetware thanks you too! My question, could I store the dough in my basement where it is cool right now?

Assuming your basement is 45 to 50 degrees, your bread may not taste as tangy since it will be in a warmer environment. The cooler slower rise in the frig will produce a tangier bread. Elisabeth

Don’t bake it—FRY it. This is the BEST fry bread ever!!! There is no sugar in the dough, so it will cook through without over browning. I use it right from the fridge. Oil/grease your hands and squeeze off a small piece, about the size of a ping-pong ball. Squish it a little flat–or don’t. Drop in 350 to 375 degree oil and fry to golden. They hold the heat a long time so you don’t have to rush to the table. They call out for a savory, rich, meaty topping. Like pull apart and spoon in filling kind of topping. If you are the orderly type you may have to knead in a little flour so it won’t be so sticky. I didn’t notice a big difference between squished and just squeezed. The rough, squeezed pieces can’t be too big or the inside might blow out the side as it cooks. No real harm done, but it doesn’t look so good.

“Frogs,” my MIL calls these – fried dough. Thanks for the inspiration, I hadn’t thought to use this recipe like that – but I’ll definitely give it a go next time I have some no-knead dough in the fridge… PJH

I just baked my first loaves of this bread after having it in the frig for about 5 days. Wow, we literally inhaled the first loaf with a bowl of hot soup. Just absolutely delicious.

Since I only made half the recipe I baked it all – so I just had to make another batch! I do not have the dough thingy so I used my empty gallon plus plastic ice cream container and it worked just fine. Maybe Santa will put the right container under the tree.

We have to drive over 100 miles to buy ready baked artisan bread – now I can make it hot anytime we want it for much less the cost of $5+ a loaf not to mention the 200 mile round trip.

Thanks a million KAF –

I know so many people doing the same thing – just pulling off a hunk every evening and baking for supper. Zoe and Jeff have definitely contributed a huge amount to the baking lives of so many of us… Thaks for sharing your experience here. PJH

I used 1 cup of beer and 2 cups of warm water to get to proper temp. I let it sit for 4 days…took a clump and made 3 loaves/buns. Wow! smell, texture and taste from what I remember from the NY bakeries! This is a real keeper! Ate all three buns…WITH BUTTER! Yum!

I just tried a loaf and it had very few holes, and didn’t have much taste. In checking the recipe I think I followed the directions correctly. Could someone suggest what might have gone wrong? ThanksBe sure you are measuring the flour correctly. If your bread does not have many holes, it is probably due to the flour to liquid ratio. A dough high in liquid will usually produce the most holes. Choosing to keep it in the frig for a longer period of time to ferment will give it both more flavor and more tang. The recipe says you may keep the dough stored in the frig for up to 7 days! Elisabeth

I would like some help with 2 questions. I have the ABin5 book but haven’t used it much. I’m ready to give it another try. I like the whole grain idea, but can’t tolerate whole wheat. I’m OK with white flour. What else besides oats can I add to get some whole grains? Any tips?

My second question has to do with the crust. Because I have braces on my teeth, I’d like a less crunchy crust that’s a little easier to chew. What adjustments should I make to result in a softer crust — no water, covered baker, etc?

Thanks a bunch for any help!Other whole grain flours that you might consider are barley, quinoa, spelt, or amaranth. If you want a softer crust, the simplest thing to do is add a tablespoon of butter or oil to the recipe; that will keep it much softer. You can also brush the top of the loaf with some soft butter right out of the oven. Susan

Up to the point of refrigerating the dough, all was exactly as you indicated in the recipe. I put the risen dough in its container in a cool room in the basement (40 to 45 deg F). I took it out after 5 or 6 days and pulled off an 18 oz hunk of dough and left it at room temp plus (70 to 75 deg F) to rise. Nothing has happened. No rise after 2 hours plus. Any ideas what happened? Looks like the yeast is dead.

The yeast could indeed have eaten all its food and expired… not sure what happened, except 40°F-45°F is a bit warm, and 6 days is a bit long to let it sit. Especially at 40°F-45°F. Next time, if you’re going to store above 40°F, best to only let it sit a few days – maybe 3 maximum? Try it after 1 day, after 2 days, after 3 days… If it works, next time stretch it out longer. Don’t give up! This bread is too good to quit on… PJH

I am making my first trial loaf of this bread as I type and I was wondering if I can leave the rest of the dough in the refrigerator until tomorrow and bake another loaf at that time. I have a wine and cheese party to attend tomorrow and that is what the bread is intended for, but I wanted to make a “trial loaf” tonight to make sure it turned out okay. I just don’t want to save the rest of the dough for tomorrow only to find out that it should have all been baked on the same day after pulling my first ball of dough from the mass. Thank you!

Sound be fine, Jane – just be sure to leave yourself enough time for the dough to come to room temperature and rise. it’ll probably take at least a couple of hours longer than your first loaf. PJH

As usual, a great presentation — your enthusiasm, PJ, is infectious. I’ve made this ‘loaf a day’ bread from instructions on the web and it was good but I like your style better. The pictures sure say it’s different.
A comment, however, regarding measuring the flour . I noticed in your instructions and when in a class at the baking school, that you use the back side of the flour scoop to “level”. Please note that the back side is rounded which when dragged across the cup will slightly compress the carefully fluffed flour.
Richard

Richard, I use a scoop whose back side is straight, for that very reason. And you make an excellent point – most scoops are indeed rounded, and therefore a table knife is generally the best “sweeper” when measuring flour. Cheers- PJH

I baked the bread last night. It was crusty and looked good when it came out of the oven. When I cut it this morning, the crumb structure looked dense; did not have a lot of holes. I made half the recipe, weighed 16 oz of KA all purpose flour and measured the water using the glass measuring cup (12 oz). Is it because the water was not enough? The bottom crust was soft this morning. Is this how it is supposed to be? I had cooled the bread on the wire rack for about an hour and then stored it in a container without a lid. Thanks

Artisan breads are best eaten the day they are made. You’ll have both the crispy crust and hole-y inner texture. Waiting overnight, the crust will soften. You can refresh the bread by re-heating in the oven. If you do cut the bread the day it’s made, put the cut side down on a cutting board and store that way. Irene @ KAF

My question is about the container…I placed my dough in the KAF container, and did not completely close it…My dough is very dry, no longer sticky…should I close the container completely???
Tks, and of course I love KAF. , and all the good recipes…

Yes, Hope, that would be the way to go – close it completely, or at least, if you don’t snap it shut, make sure the cover is all the way over the mouth of the container, so air isn’t pouring in. In the fridge, close it completely; snap it shut. That should keep the dough fairly moist for awhile. PJH

I just took a class on Artisan Bread (peasant bread) and it is wonderful and easy! You can freeze this in a freezer baggy. Just thaw on the counter with a paper towel over the top, crust will remain crusty. After slicing, place sliced side down on the counter and cover loosely with a paper towel, bread will remain crusty outside, and soft on the inside. You can put it in a baggy, but crust won’t remain as crusty as when you first baked the bread. Experimenting, poured olive oil into my slits and sprinkled with rosemary. Good!

Any particular reason you recommend all purpose flour instead of bread flour?

Yes, most people have AP flour in the house, where far fewer keep bread flour around. And our King Arthur AP flour is over a percentage point higher in protein than that of other national brands, so it’s wonderful for bread, as well as all your other baking. In fact, our AP flour is the one Prof. Raymond Calvel (“the godfather of bread”) recommended for baguettes, when he tried it in a blind test while visiting this country – so it definitely has the stamp of approval! PJH

can u use quick rise yeast instead of instant rise?No, I am sorry, you can not use quick rise or rapid rise yeast for this recipe. You may use active dry yeast, though. But, remember not to skip the step of proofing or hydrating the yeast (instant yeast can be blended in with dry ingredients – no hydration necessary) by mixing with a little warm water (100-110°F is perfect) and a pinch of sugar. Allow to sit for 10 minutes or until the mixture foams vigorously. After proofing, active dry yeast is added to the bread with the other liquid ingredients. Elisabeth

I have made this bread many times with great success. Today I tried it with your king Arthur bread flour. The results were good but not as good. Any suggestions… Just stay wi all purpose?

Probably, with the higher protein in the bread flour, you didn’t adjust the amount of liquid; a higher protein flour absorbs more water. So, your dough was probably drier, which means the loaf probably didn’t rise as high, nor have as open a texture – am I right? If you want to use bread flour, try increasing the water by about 1 tablespoon for every 2 cups of flour; that should help. Then again, if you’re having success with AP – maybe you’d just want to stick with it? PJH

Can you tell me why this type of bread does not require some kind of shortening? Could it be that shortening (butter or oil) is not even required in kneaded bread?
Thanks

That’s right, Judy – shortening isn’t required in kneaded (yeast) bread. When you make yeast bread without fat, it’s called a “lean” dough. The result is chewy bread, often with a crisp/crackly crust – think baguette. Flour, water, yeast and salt – the most basic bread there is, and probably the earliest known to man. PJH

The only breads I have ever made are banana bread and Irish brown bread. No yeast required. I mixed this by hand, put it in a five quart ice cream pail and put it in the fridge five days ago. It deflated to half the container and I figured I’d messed it up. I went ahead and baked a loaf and I can’t believe how good it is. If I can do this…anyone can.

Patrice, what a great testimonial! It’s truly a simple method, isn’t it? And the result – OH-so-good… Congratulations, and thanks for sharing. PJH

Hi 🙂
I made this – cant take a pic to save my life but it would really mean A LOT to me, if you’d have a look at this link… this was maybe the best bread I have ever eaten. Even my hubby who’s OH so picky in bread matters, loved it and asked for me.. Thank you SO much!

Hi,
I’ve had this recipe bookmarked since you first posted it. For one reason or another I never got around to trying it until last weekend when I had some rare quiet time at home.

I was absolutely blown away at how easy this was and how incredibly beautiful the very first loaf looked as I took it from the oven. Two more loaves followed in the next 4 days (that’s after my husband returned from a trip and devoured most of a loaf by himself and I had to pick up the baking pace!).

I had nothing the right size to store the dough in the refrigerator except for an upside down Tupperware cake container with lid. And it worked just fine.

Thank you so much for your wonderful, easy-to-follow instructions and photos. Your site is great.

And yes, I used KAF. I am convinced the flour makes this bread foolproof.

Julie, thanks so much for sharing your success here. I love it when one of our readers finds a new favorite recipe! And I’m with you – I KNOW King Arthur Flour makes the difference… Cheers – PJH

I just tried this recipe for the 1st time–used SAF yeast and KAF. Loaves were consistently damp inside, in spite of waiting until they were GOOD and brown before taking out of oven. Should I try a lower oven temp/longer baking? Is it my mediocre slashing? (I’m wondering it steam couldn’t escape…) I found slashing very difficult with such a sticky dough. I tried small roll-size loaves on day 2 as an experiment. Same problem.This bread is a favorite of mine. My co-worker loves to use it as pizza dough if she is looking for a quick dinner. It does have a moist interior but should not be doughy. Be sure your oven is up to the correct temperature. An oven thermometer is helpful! Yes, slashing can be difficult when the dough is sticky. Do not be afraid to go back a second or a third time to make your slashes deeper. You may need to keep your loaf in longer than the suggested baking time. I know I do. Every oven bakes differently, keep in mind. Look for a nice golden color and an internal temperature close to 205 degrees. Elisabeth

I’ve always been afraid to bake my own bread, but you made it sound so simple that I did it with ingredients already in my kitchen. Wow, I can’t believe how much better it tastes and it wasn’t scary at all. KAF has inspired me on many occasions to give up my tried-and-true recipe or try something new. Thank you! 🙂

I’ve been baking this bread using a Cuisinart clay oven, with no need for the addition of steam or water when baking. The results are equal to bread made with my regular oven with additon of the steam. Makes great bread with very little effort.

Lately I’ve been adding about a third of KAF white whole wheat flour, adding a bit more water and KAF essential wheat gluten.
So easy!

Just as the dough began to rise, I realized I forgot to add salt. Would it be possible to add salt later on in the recipe, like when I’m shaping the dough?

Salt is a flavor carrier, so skipping it will result in bland tasting baked goods. It would be best to knead into the dough before it rises (in the dough stage) rather than waiting for the shaping stage. Happy Baking! Irene @ KAF

I’m determined to try this despite my mini-apartment…with no oven! I have a Breville toaster/convection oven that has served me VERY well lots of recipes, but a couple of questions on this:

1) Is it OK to cut this recipe in half?
2) If not, is it OK to separate the dough before the first rising stage into multiple containers? I don’t have a 6 qt bucket, nor do I have room for one! Would 2-3 glass bowls work?
3) Does the steam only happen at the beginning of the recipe, or throughout? The Breville does not have multiple racks. I’ve found some other comments from small-oven owners who have put a mug with boiling water on the same rack for the first 15 min of baking time (at which point the water is almost all evaporated). Does that sound like an OK steam plan? I could also try putting small ramekins on the bottom of the oven (inbetween heating elements)…

Thank you so much for your detailed instructions and your help!

1) Sure, no problem
2) You could do that, too.
3) Steam is useful only at the beginning. What you describe is OK, but just be sure to use a container that’s oven-proof – a mug sounds a little dicey… how about a small bread pan or something designed to be used in the oven?

Be careful when putting water in a 500 deg oven. I pour a cup of water into a small cast iron skillet heated in the bottom of the oven. It seemed to work well until I accidentally spilled a small amount of water onto the glass door of my oven. The glass shattered and had to be replaced. Very expensive.

Why, oh why did I not come here first???! I’m a seasoned baker, and have the book “Artisan Bread, 5-Mins a Day” by the authors you sited in the blog and recipe. The problem is they never talk about weighing the flour, so like a good little KAF baker that I am, I used the sprinkle, level method. My results (twice) were the soggy flatter loaves. They tasted good, but were much too wet.
This blog, photos and comments were just what I needed to straighten out my baking problems. In fact, I Like your recipe better than Jeff & Zoe’s (sorry guy, but I did buy three copies of the book as gifts  )
So, I’m ready to give this another go. Just a note to other bakers, I do prefer the wheat & rye flour combo recipe in their book vs. straight white flour bread – both yielded wonderful crunchy crusts and (in my case) doughy interior.
A question for the group: the cookbook says the dough keeps 14-days; your recipe says 7-days. Why the difference?
Thanks and keep up the great work!

Glad we could help. We found that after 14 days, the dough was just too sour for our taste. It certainly “keeps” for 14 days; it’s just that the flavor changes a lot, so we suggest to people to limit the fridge time to 7 days. PJH

I do not have a stone. I like larger loaves for sandwiches. I have used LTD 9″ pots with great results ( using 1/2 the dough). My latest is a Pyrex bowl. I get a boule, 3″ high, straight sides and
Perfect. I think anything that can handle 450 will work. I made the water a little more than 115. Got a very soft dough nd less dense loaf. This dough just wants to make good bread

The various KA sandwich breads are a staple in our home. Time to venture forth. Our favorite “artisan” bread is a Black Pepper Parmesan bread produced locally. Is it possible to add cheese or spices to this dough? If so, when?

Thanks, ClarenceYou can definitely add some cheese and spice to this recipe. Start small and work your way up. Maybe 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 cup Parmesan added in with the flour to start with. Let us know how it goes. ~ MaryJane

I love this recipe, and wonder about making it with wheat bread? without scrolling up all the way, do I use the same recipe only wheat flour? If so, do I need to add wheat gluten and how much?

I have been making this since fall, and gets rave reviews every time I serve it. also makes good French toast, and croutons. And noone believes how easy it is to make!Our advice when starting to convert a recipe to WW is to start with about 2/3 white and 1/3 wheat, then go to 50/50. If you keep liking the results, keep increasing the WW until you have a ratio you are happy with. Keep in mind you’ll need to adjust the liquid as well as WW tends to absorb more water. You may eventually need to add some gluten, just follow the package recommendations for how much. Good luck! ~ MaryJane

This blog and the baker’s hotline are so helpful. Question 1: can I make bigger loaves, for example, using half the dough instead of 1/4 or 1/3, and how does that change baking time etc.? Question 2: would this dough work in a loaf pan if I want to get more of a sandwich-friendly bread? Thanks for all your help.

Yes to the bigger loaf – and yes, you’d need to increase baking time, probably, depending on loaf size. Try making a rather flattened ball; or a longer loaf, just so you don’t end up with a volleyball-shape/size loaf that’s a challenge to bake all the way through. Also, yes to a pan – keeping in mind this is a crusty/chewy loaf, and baking it in a pan isn’t going to change its texture to something soft/sandwich-like… though it’ll definitely make its crust chewy rather than crisp. Good luck – PJH

Someone in an online community sent me this link when I was discussing making 80 bread bowls for a wedding…can’t wait to try it! I’ve been searching everywhere for a recipe like this one! So simple, I don’t think I could knead that much bread! Thanks so much for sharing!

What a great endeavor – one tip from us, be sure you try the recipe so you know what to expect from the process and the results before the excitement of the big date. Happy Baking! Irene @ KAF

This is a great recipe. I conducted a little kitchen test using this recipe. I broke off two balls of three day old dough. I let them both rise the sixty minutes required. While I was resting the dough, I preheated my oven to 500*. I used both my pizza stone and my dutch oven. The first loaf was baked in the oven, following the NY Times instructions. The second loaf was baked on the stone with a pan of water for steam. Both loaves were beautiful, both had dark brown crusts. The bread baked in the dutch oven had a very crisp crust and an almost perfect crumb. My recommendation is give the dutch oven a try, you might really enjoy the results.

Thanks so much for posting the results of your experiment here – much appreciated by all of us avid bread bakers. I happen to love a good cast iron dutch oven – I’m lucky to have cast iron cookware over 100 years old, and it cooks and bake like a dream… PJH

I purchased KAF – Bread Flour today before getting online for a recipe. Is there a modified version of this recipe for bread flour? This will be my first time baking bread and this looks like the perfect recipe for me. HELP!

Erika, I think if you use bread flour and add an additional 1/3 cup water to the recipe, you should be just fine. Good luck – PJH

I know this is an old post, but I’m hoping someone will be there to answer my question. I tried the recipe straight from the book and I could never get it quite right. I was very excited to find an adapted recipe here because KAF recipes have never failed me. I have done two loaves so far both of which have not turned out. The first one I realized was underdone. I have a tendency to get worried that the loaves will burn and take them out too soon. The second one, however, I left in the oven for nearly an hour. I used my thermometer to check the internal temp and it was at 200 when I took it out. It looked gorgeous on the outside so I was very excited to cut into it. I waited until it was completely cool and it still looks underdone. It is kind of waxy and gummy looking. It is very dense. Am I still not letting it bake long enough? I have an oven thermometer and I know that it was at 450 the entire time it baked (or at least as close to that as I could manage). I have enough for one more loaf so I’m hoping someone can reply before I attempt it again. Thanks!

Hmm it sounds like a few things could be going on. I would suggest calling our Baker’s Hotline so we can troubleshoot your problem together.-Jon 1-802-649-3717

I realize this is an odd question, given that this is a KAF forum, but I live in India (where I have been unable to find KAF) and can only find a sort of ap flour called maida (which I understand has protein somewhere between true ap and cake flour).
Like others, I am finding that this loaf is very tasty and has a great crust, but my crumb is dense and not hole-y. Could I compensate for the low protein by letting it rise longer or using more yeast? Or am I doomed to cake-y bread?
Thanks! If you could get your hands on some vital wheat gluten, you would find that it would add to the structure of your bread. You do not need to increase the amount of yeast you are using, but increasing the fermentation time might be helpful in opening the crumb structure. ~Amy

Love this blog!
I’m anxious to try this bread. My mom loves crusty sourdough, which I make for her on occasion, but it is so time consuming. This sounds easy. I think I will give this a try, adding some of my sourdough starter (as suggested by R Hart). I’ll report back on the results from the addition of sourdough starter.

When I first began experimenting with baking breads with a crunchy crust, mostly sourdough, I read about baking cloches. I did not especially want another baking tool to store, and a cloche is a major purchase, cost wise. So I began thinking, “what do I have that would produce the same result?” I already had a large pizza stone which would work for the bottom. I also have a large, oven proof Pyrex mixing bowl. I used that for the lid, misting the inside of the bowl with water before placing over the loaf (I preheated the stone, but not the bowl). The bowl was removed during the last 15 minutes of baking; I covered the loaf lightly with foil to prevent over-browning. This produced a very crisp, crunchy crust.

Problems I encountered with this method:
1. The bowl is quite difficult to remove since it doesn’t have a handle as the cloche lid does.(two Ov-Gloves made it easier).
2. The loaf spread more than it probably would have in the cloche (the bottom of the cloche is smaller and has sides).
3. The bread stuck where it touched the bowl. When I tried removing the bowl, I had to pry it loose and the crust tore (greasing the inside of the bowl along the top edge might prevent this).

I compared this method to baking uncovered with a pan of water under the loaf. The covered loaf was slightly crustier, with larger holes (this could have been due to some other factor as the two loaves were not made from the same dough). The loaf baked uncovered with a pan of water on the rack below produced a chewier, crunchy crust (which I like). Unless I want more crunch, I use the pan of water method, just because of the difficulty of removing the bowl. With a cloche, spreading would not be an issue, but I still don’t think I will invest in a cloche when the water method gives me satisfactory results. Perhaps there are other ways to solve the spreading issue?

I do not want to use my cast iron Dutch oven as I’m afraid this would damage its “season”. I bake cornbread in it, but with plenty of butter. I did not think of baking bread in a covered casserole. I have an oblong Corning ware 2 1/2 qt one. Would this work? I’m concerned about baking in it with little moisture (breakage?). I also have a round stoneware casserole (glazed) but am not willing to experiment with it since it is hand-thrown and cost $50, in 1970!

In answer to questions regarding bland loaves because of forgetting to add salt (Rachel from Beloit and others), I have a no-knead recipe that relies on onion and dill for flavor. After baking you rub the crust with butter and sprinkle it with coarse salt. This would soften the crust some, but it would give the missing flavor enhancement.

Thanks, Bloggers and KAF, for the great comments.

The spreading dough issue is often from 1.) the dough having too much water in it and 2.) from improper shaping. Although this recipe makes a very sticky, wet dough, you can have too much water! I’d dial it back by 1/4 cup and see how the next dough turns out. To keep the crust nice and crisp, just the slashed dough directly with water before you place it in the hot oven and cover it up. As for baking dishes, it would be best to stick with something that is oven-proof and steer clear of the Corning ware and stoneware casserole (lead possibility on that one). I would also advise you to not use the cast iron: in our tests, we found it to burn the breads instead! I hope these tips help! Kim@KAF

I found this recipe about a week and a half ago, maybe two weeks. I was so excited! I love to make homemade bread, but had gotten away from it and had been thinking of looking for something quick, easy, and delicious. When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. I read through some comments, saw one about trying to substitute some whole wheat flour for the all-purpose, and decided to do that too. (We’re trying to get more whole grains into our diet.) I decided to shoot for a half and half mixture of flours, adding in the extra water that was in the comment response…I knew it would change the texture of the dough, but wanted to see how it went. After waiting the required time, I put my loaves into the oven. Oh how wonderful to have the smell of fresh bread baking in the house again! It was SO hard to wait the 30 minutes or so! When the bread came out of the oven it was a gorgeous dark brown, and you could feel the crustiness when you picked it up. However, when it was time to eat, it had lost most of that good chewy crust, and the inside of the bread itself was heavy. Don’t get me wrong, the taste was there, it was the texture I was missing. I called the hotline and talked with a lady there who pointed out that I probably shouldn’t have replaced half the a-p flour with white whole wheat. I knew she was right, but still….so disappointed. Yet, I’d mixed the whole batch, and still had 2/3 of it sitting in my fridge! I couldn’t bring myself to bake the rest, feeling like I’d “failed”. So it sat there for a week and a half. Today I was cleaning out my leftovers and pulled out the bowl of dough, debating whether to throw it away or bake it. It DID taste good, so I decided to bake it. This time, instead of the round loaves, I pulled off smaller pieces and just make dinner sized rolls. I followed the same technique, and into the oven they went. What came out was….just FANTASTIC! I have NEVER made bread so good. I don’t know what changed…whether it was letting it sit so long in the fridge, making smaller rolls, or what, but THIS was the crusty, chewy, awesome bread I had been looking for the first time. And the dark, caramel colored parts were the best of all…full of a yummy goodness I’ve never achieved at home. THANK YOU for this recipe. I’m encouraged to try it again (with all a-p flour this time!). Even my 7 yr old picky eater is exclaiming over how good this bread is!What a great baking adventure. Thanks for sharing your experience, it will help us all learn! ~ MJ

If you are using a 2lb bag of King Arthur All Purpose Flour, you will need a little extra water. I have been weighing the 2lb bags I purchase and they are consistently between 2 lb 2 oz and 2 lb 3 oz. The empty bag weights 3/8 oz so that does not account for much of the extra weight. I find that when using a bag of flour, 26 oz of water is needed to get the proportions right.

If I let the dough sit in the covered bowl in the refrigerator for the full 7 days without pulling from it, is there anything that I need to do with the dough day-to-day, such as press down/oil/flour? Also, after I pull from it, do I need to dress the remaining dough that’s going back into the fridge (oil, flour, kneed etc)? Thanks!

The holes throughout my bread were pretty small and the bread turned out more dense than i would have liked… any suggestions? Thanks!

Brendan, it sounds like perhaps the flour/liquid ratio was tipped just slightly towards the dry side. Did you weigh your flour, rather than measure in cups? Weighing flour is the best way to make sure the flour/liquid ratio is just right, for the bread you’re trying to make. Remember, yeast bread baking is a lifelong learning experience – just as much journey as destination. Enjoy! PJH

I am excited to try this easy recipe! my problem is storage. I like to retain the crunchy crust and find that storing in a plastic bag softens the crust. Leaving the bread out, hardens the bread too much. Any happy medium?

Usually this style of bread has a one or two day shelf life. Maybe try and store it in a paper bag and eat up quickly!

If your crust gets soft when storing, lightly spritz with some water and stick it in the oven for a few minutes – it will crisp up again!
I brought a loaf of sourdough bread from SF to friends on the East Coast and it was soft from being in a package during the trip. I did the above and it was terrific.

I’m looking to make this bread but all I have on hand is active dry yeast. I’m assuming the only difference would be that I have to dissolve the yeast in the water first. Would I be correct with this assumption?

That’s right, Jared; you might also find your rising times are a bit longer, but active dry is definitely a good choice, and these days, you don’t even need to dissolve it in water first anymore – just add it right along with the rest of the dry ingredients. Good luck – PJH

Love the taste of this bread but would like the outside to not be so thick and hard…any suggestions? Would baking on an airbake sheet help? No water pan underneath? I’ll try anything…thanks so much! You can skip the water/steam for a softer crust. ~Amy

So I finally got around to trying this once I bought a 6 quart cambro. After two days I decided I wanted to try it. So I grabbed a 14 ounce hunk of dough, rounded it into a ball, placed in a bowl with a floured towel. About 45 minutes later I place a cast iron pan in the oven and preheat to 450 I grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil and place the dough onto the sheet, score, place in the oven along with the water in the cast iron pan. I smell burning about 15 minutes in but I think it’s okay but I look at it and see that the top looks great but the pan looks like its burning, whatever. I let it go for another 15 minutes and pull it out of the oven. the bread is completely burned on the bottom. Am I using the wrong type of oil? Other than the bottom the bread was great, big irregular holes in the crumb and a thick, crisp, yet supple crust after cooling, and a tangy flavor that I really enjoyed. I’ll be trying the rest of the dough on a pizza stone.If the bottom is burning, but not the rest of the bread, try using two baking sheets layered. This will give the bottom of the loaf extra protection. Hope this helps! ~ MJ

I had forwarded this recipe to my boss and he asked if I thought it was possible to mix the dough by hand and then cook in his bread machine? I didn’t think so, but I also have no experience with bread machines. I figured I could at least throw the question out there to see if anyone else knows?

Hmm, I suppose technically if your boss has a bread machine that has a bake only setting with no further rises or kneading then it will be possible to bake half of this recipe in the machine. However, I would strongly suggest to bake in your oven if you want a very crisp crust.-Jon

I agree with Jon – if he has a Zo he can certainly program it to “bake only,” but he won’t get the same type of bread AT ALL it’ll be spongy/leathery baked in the machine, rather than having the crisp/crunchy crust it gets baked in a regular oven. I don’t recommend it. PJH

I love baking whole wheat ciabatta bread but have not been able to get a crusty crust. I tried throwing ice cubes in a pan under the baking stone just before closing the oven door but still no crusty crust. One method I used that did provide a HARD crust was putting a large pan in the oven and heating it to 450 and after a while I dumped the dough in it, covered it and baked 30 min I think then took the top off and cooked another 15 min. The crust was hard as a brick. I have a gas stove so does that make a difference? What would cause a crusty crust from putting hot water in a pan under the stone cause? I get really pretty ciabatta with holes and a nice texture but I want a crisp crust. Help!

DLM

Save that ice cube/water method for another type of bread! To get the crispy ciabatta crust, once the bread is baked – turn the oven off, place ciabatta on the oven’s middle rack, crack the door open about 2″, and allow ciabatta to cool completely in the turned-off oven. Happy Baking! Irene@KAF

I’m going to try this in my Breville Smart Oven (the largest one).
I don’t have a cloche (and it would be too tall anyway) and no room for putting a pan of water. I was thinking of using a stainless bowl over the dough in the oven to contain the moisture. Could I use a cake pan (lined with parchment) as the base to contain the shape of the loaf?
Do you think this will work? Obviously, I would be making a smaller loaf each time.
Thanks

I love the No-Knead Crusty White Bread. I have real good luck with it and tastes wonderful. My problem is my class in bread baking. I have to make two loaves of bread weighing 600 g a piece. This recipe doesn’t meet his criteria. How can I fix the items that need to be weighed as well as the percentage? I am really stumped.

HI Gigi,
Is your instructor covering Baker’s Percentage? If so, he should also be covering how to calculate the dough to achieve the desired dough weight. If not, check out some of the books that cover it well, such as Gisslen’s “Professional Baking” and Amendola’s “The Baker’s Manual”. Both books are available online. Good luck with your class. ~ MJ

I live in the backwoods of Thailand and getting decent bread is tough. Tried many recipes, but I couldn’t believe this one. It’s simplest and the tastiest white bread around. It always lasts well. The store bread I have bought here is stale within a day, this lasts well, dont end up wasting much. Thanks so much for this, you made an expat very happy

You mean, you want to make half the recipe? Or you want to make half a loaf of the dough you have stashed in the fridge? Either is fine – for half the recipe, cut everything in half; a pencil and paper (or better, yet, a hand calculator) is a big help. If half a loaf, simply scoop out half the amount of dough called for, and bake a bit less – maybe 10 minutes less? Not sure exactly, just make sure it’s nice and brown. Good luck – PJH

Yes, this bread is delish, I live in New Mexico, 5000 ft above sea level, I feel like the dough doesn’t rise much in the fridge. I have a 6qt container and I’d say the dough only rises 1/2 way up the container. Any suggestions or is this OK?

This is one of my favorite no knead recipes. Definitely worth your time getting it right. It will not rise as quickly in the frig as at room temperature so do not worry. The cold environment is slowing the yeast activity while building organic acids for flavor. Set you oven 25 degrees higher to compensate for the higher altitude. For more tips, please got to Recipe page and click on High-altitude baking under Ingredient guide found at the bottom of the page. Have fun! Elisabeth@KAF

Made this two days ago. Baked half as two round loaves in a cast iron Dutch oven. Great! Waited til today to make the remaining half into pizza. Used a cast iron pizza pan and a cast iron skillet (your blog about cast iron a pizza’s best friend has been my pizza inspiration for awhile now). Fabulous as pizza dough. So easy, can make every week in just a few minutes. My favorite pizza dough that I’ve tried.

Cannot thank you enough for all that you do. And must agree with all who speak so highly of your flour. Adore your white whole wheat.

So glad you discovered this simple no-knead dough – it certainly gives you a lot of great bread for not much effort, doesn’t it? Wonderful how time does the work for us. Thanks for your kind words about our flour – we really appreciate it (and we love them, too!) 🙂 PJH

Hi, I love this bread and bake it at least once or twice a week for my family. I live in New Mexico where the altitude is 5000 feet above sea level. so I have made some minor adjustments. 3 1/3 cup water, add 2 xtra tbsp of flour and 1 tbsp – 1/2 tsp of yeast. I bake at 470 degrees. I try to bake until thermometer reads 200 (about 1 1/2 hours) but sometimes the bread starts to burn on the bottom if I keep it in the oven too long. While it tastes delicious and with a little toasting is perfect, my bread is always a little moist and I don’t really get those nice irregular holes in the bread. I called the hotline and they suggested speaking to a local baker. I tried with no results. Anyone out there who has baked this bread at a high altitude, please let me know your results. THanks

I been making this Bread, just exact to your measurements, but my bread is not light enough ,still
a little heavy. One Questions I have, you keep mentioning that to use a scale 32oz, which I have
been doing. But in your list you show 61/2 to 71/2 cups of flour. If you consider 8oz equal
1 cup, then ,if you take 7 x 8 oz, it comes out to 56oz?????? I think I should be adding more
flour than 32oz, this does not make sense. Think this is why my Bread a little heavy and wet. No
enough flour. Thanks. (PS ,The bread is good and eatable, but think it could be better) Paul

Hi Paul – actually, flour weighs about 4 1/4 ounces per cup, not 8 ounces; only water, juice and other similar “thin” liquids weigh 8 ounces per cup. So 32 ounces is just fine. Make sure your dough has risen good and high before putting it into its thoroughly preheated oven, OK? And bake it all the way through; if it starts to brown too much, tent it with aluminum foil. Any further questions, please contact our hotline, 855-371-253 – I’m sure they can help. Cheers – PJH

Forgive me if you already answered this question… I didn’t have time to read all the comments. I recently moved to Colorado where our elevation is over 4,500 ft above sea level, so I am still trying to find good recipes (or a way to convert) for high-altitude baking. I would love to try this recipe, but do you have any sure-fire cheats to converting this recipe for high-altitudes? Thanks! I love KAF recipes!

I’ve made it twice so far. Once with 2 hour room temperature rise, then 3 hours in the refrigerator. Was pretty good.

Second time, it had the 2 hour initial, then 7 hours in the refrigerator. After that seven hours, I made bread with it and it was even better than the first time. I only made one loaf and left the other half of the dough in the refrigerator over night.

Next day, we made pizza with this dough. Wow! Crunchy, thin crust with a great yeasty flavor.

I am making more as I type this. It’s been in the fridge for almost 3 hours now. About to make a loaf and then bask in the warm, awesome smell of freshly baked bread. Is there much better than that?

My very first baked bread and a success! I used my new KAF dough bucket for the first time and it sits in the refrigerator with the remaining dough. I hope to be able to keep enough dough for 6 more days and try this bread as a sourdough. The thought of pulling off a piece and baking up something fresh is challenging enough to finish up this dough sooner that that!
The biggest challenge for me was trying to get the 1 cup of hot water in the bottom pan and closing the door quickly enough. I am guessing that this process assists with the outcome of the crust???? If so, I guess I was quick enough but could’ve been quicker since my finished product had a crispy crust but an even crispier crust would’ve been even better. For this step, I used a baking sheet on the bottom rack, pulled the rack out a bit so I could get the water into it and then as gently and quickly as possible pushed the rack back in and shut the door. I wouldn’t mind a few suggestions on how I can do this more productively and that’s why I am sharing these details with you.
I am so excited about my new bread journey and cannot thank KAF enough for their wonderful website filled with knowledge and the wonderful Baker’s hotline for the expert baker’s with their amazing help, patience and encouragement.

I ruined my last oven by steam baking my bread. I would put a pan of water on the bottom rack and continue with the directions for baking. I ended up, after several months, having to replace a major electrical part in the oven, and was told at that time, that to steam bake, you really should have a special oven designed for this. I now use the cloches and find no need to use steam.

Well, I’m sorry that happened. I know a lot of people do bake using steam in regular (non-steam) ovens, without a problem. There are really too many variables (how much steam, how frequently you bake, type of oven, age of oven, etc.) for me to comment more than that… PJH

I use this recipe and always with success. I have two cloches to bake my bread in. Two questions: If the dough rises on parchment paper, how do you transfer it to the Cloche without it losing its shape and interrupting the rising? I hope this makes sense.

Second question: What is the best way to clean up dough from sinks, counters, boards, utensils, etc. hot water, cold, sponge, dish cloth, etc.?

If I understand your question – I’d just make sure the parchment is trimmed small enough to fit within the cloche, then pick it up by its edges and lift it into the cloche. As for cleaning – use a bench knife or dough scraper to scrape as much of the dough from the counter, etc., as possible, before scrubbing with cold water/paper towels. Utensils and bowls: use cold water and paper towels. If you use a dishcloth, sponge, etc. it’ll get covered with sticky dough. I’m not a fan of anything throwaway, but this is really the one thing I do use paper towels for (well, draining cooked bacon, too). Hope this helps – PJH

I also bake this bread in a Cloche. I put parchment paper in the Cloche, then shape the dough on a floured cutting board, then transfer the shaped loaf right into the Cloche (on the parchment paper) to let it rise. After it’s risen, I score it with a tomato knife, then cover it, and pop it into the oven. The loaf gets a good oven spring, and everything. Hope this helps.

Jeanne, use less water; and, as you said, expect a flatter loaf, unless you bake it in a supportive pan of some sort, rather than free-form. The gluten in spelt is VERY mellow, and doesn’t support high-rising breads. PJH

I have made this bread several times and it rises beautifully, gets great bounce in the oven, and has a wonderful crust, and the bread tastes excellent. The issue is that I never get the big irregular holes like you get, and like you expect in artisan bread. My bread, while it has risen very nicely, and is not too dense, always has smaller closely spaced holes, like commercial sandwich bread. I have tried everything! What is the secret to big irregular holes in the bread?

One of the largest factors that determine whether or not your bread has large holes is the hydration of the dough. The wetter the dough, the larger the holes. For a good example, I would try a rustic ciabatta recipe! Jon@KAF

Just dropping in to say how much I’ve enjoyed making this recipe. With the KA dough wisk, it’s even easy to mix up. I made two loaves right off, a third later in the week with no appreciable change in flavor. The last loaf, I experimented by leaving the dough out to rise extra long, probably 4 hours. As a result, it fell after rising and started to produce bubbles. I baked as usual, and it rose only minimally in the oven. However, the result is a wonderful ciabatta style loaf, tender-chewy with a slightly sweeter flavor. It is fantastic dipped in a little herbed olive oil.

Has anyone tried this in a 9×5 pan? Every time I try and make bread it always turns into a pancake in the oven. The crust is always soft and the middle is always dry-ish and dense. Was it maybe the recipe I was using? I weigh my flour 4.25oz to the cup.

Hi Shanna,
It’s always hard to pinpoint what may be happening without chatting in “real time”. I would say give the hotline a call, then we can talk about all the different things that effect bread baking, like temperature, time, texture, etc. ~ MJ

So after making a couple of different sized loaves, without a scale (I really need to get me one of those), I decided to use the little bit of dough I had left in the fridge after about 7 days as a pizza crust- stretched it thin- 30 minute rise- and then used the same par-bake method as in the now and later recipe, just on my barbecue grill. The results: absolutely fantastic as a crust, if you fancy a thicker bubbly crust with all the crunch of a think crust! So happy I decided to experiment.

As the bread cools, moisture from the interior of the loaf makes its way to the crust and out into the kitchen. You may want to bake your bread a little longer to more fully dry out the crust.~Jaydl@KAF

I asked earlier about turning this recipe into rolls , par baking, and then finish cooking. How long approximately before the rolls are a pale blond? How long can I keep them in the freezer? At what temperature do I preheat the oven to finish baking and for how long? Also, do I place the rolls on a pan, stone, or the oven rack for the final baking. Thank you

Hi Diane- Instead of par-baking, I would recommend baking the rolls fully. You can then double-wrap them, right after they are cooled, and freeze them for a few weeks if you like. I would then thaw them, fully wrapped still, overnight in the refrigerator. Just refresh them for a good 10 minutes at least (until well heated through to the center) in a 375°F oven before serving and enjoy! Happy Baking! Jocelyn@KAF

I just tried this recipe, I thought when mixing up this looks soooo wet. I just wanted to add more flour but, fought it:) I know it says really wet but, wow WET!!! Well glad I fought putting more flour in in it. The bread was so easy and good and you are right wet lol. I love the crust the best never can get it like that .This is now my go to bread and I have more in fridge for the week. Thanks

Long time reader; first time writer. Regarding the amount of dough, on the blog and in the recipe, all that’s mentioned is grabbing a handful. Do you use all the dough that this makes in one shot, making 2-4 loaves/boules simultaneously? Do you just grab a handful or two and stick the rest back in the refrigerator for the next day? Can you “feed” it to make more dough? Thanks so much! I love all things KAF! This amount of dough will make two good-sized round loaves, 3 or 4 flatbreads or baguettes, or at least 2 dozen rolls, depending on what you’ve a mind to do with it. You could certainly use half for a loaf one night and leave the dough in the frige for another 3 days, then make the rest. The dough will get more sour-tasting the longer it hangs around. You could use a portion of the dough as a “chef”, or the nucleus of another round of dough; it’s been done that way in France for many a century. Susan

I just moved from sea level to 3500 feet altitude. I made sure my yeast was active but my dough never rose and feels very heavy. Directions for high altitude? I’m having much trouble now. 1000 feet in PA and sea level in VA were great. Now, not to great!!!
Maryjane, one other thought I have, besides Jocelyn’s sound advice above. Is the water in your new location chlorinated? If so, it’s quite possible that’s slowing down the yeast in your bread. Susan

Hi Maryjane- The problem you are having is a little odd, as high-altitude usually makes doughs rise MORE quickly and readily than usual. So I’m thinking that although I know you checked it, I would maybe double-check your yeast again. If you mix together 1/2 cup 90-100°F water, 1 teaspoon yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar, you should see that double in about 10 minutes. If not, then I would get a new batch of yeast. Also, I would make sure you are measuring your flour by fluffing it up and sprinkling it lightly into the cup to make sure your dough isn’t too heavy. We do have additional instructions, specific to high-altitude here on our site: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/high-altitude-baking.html. If you find you’re still having some trouble, please give our Baker’s Hotline a call at 1-855-371-2253 and we’d be happy to help you figure out how to fill your new home with the delicious smell of fresh baked loaves! Happy Baking! Jocelyn@KAF

well, looks like I’m a little late. I did this exactly like you said. It came out looking nice and brown, but it is heavy and dense. I tried some of the Artisan bread recipes, had the same experience. I don’t understand why everyone else raves about this and I seem to get very different results. I thought about either more water or less flour, but this stuff is so sticky already, cant imagine what would happen. If anyone has any inside tips, I’d really appreciate it. this is really frustrating and a waste of good flour.

Hi Jim- There are a few things that could be happening. One thing could be to much flour depending on how you are measuring your flour, although if you find you bread is sticky and the dough itself doesn’t feel too heavy then this may not be the case. What I am guessing is you may be over-proofing the dough a bit, so it is crashing in the oven and destroying all that light and risen structure it had built up. So next time I would recommend moving it along into the oven a bit sooner. if you would like to give our Baker’s Hotline a call, we will do our best to help answer any other questions you may have. Happy Baking! Jocelyn@KAF

The comments take a moment to go through our system and be approved, as we like to respond to each one when it is submitted. That is why you did not see the comment appear immediately, but thank you for following-up with us. Jocelyn@KAF

One who lived in France for many years and always enjoyed their bread this one is good if not
better than theirs. I halved the ingredients, no problem. Great website, I get your e-mails almost
on a daily basis..

I have always been scared to death of baking bread. I love to cook, but baking has always seemed like voodoo or some secret magic. I finally worked up the courage to try my hand at bread and found this recipe. It turned out AMAZING! So crunchy and delicious. Fresh out of the oven we spread goat cheese, prosciutto, fresh basil, and drizzled it in olive oil. I will now be baking bread as often as possible. So delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

HI Rhea,
While you can bake in a loaf pan, the bread will still have the open texture and crisper, drier crust than a traditional sandwich bread. Think of a French loaf, and you’ll get the basic idea. ~ MJ

I have just found the recipe, and that’s why I don’t know if I will get any answer… Anyway, I have also seen a video with that method and I like it very much. I would like to give it a try. But, I am Czech, and Czechs love wheat-rye bread so I would like to substitute some wheat flour for rye. I know that rye flour has little gluten so there could be a problem with rising if I add it too much. What do you think, how what ratio wheat : rye would work?
Regards from the Czech Republic!

Sure you may add some rye Astheart. Try replacing 2 cups of the all purpose flour with some rye. Use more if you like the results and even try using some bread flour in place of some of the all purpose if if the rise is not the best. Elisabeth@KAF

Hmm> I know that this formula and method is a bit dated, but it remains reliable. I’m still tweaking time/temperature and appearance, but I’ve never had a bad one. Next is a few variations, perhaps 50% KAF WWWF. I’m thinking a tiny bit more water and time. Of others have any thoughts about making this with White Whole wheat flour (Or some Rye…) I’s sure like to hear about your results. THe best part is the slow, cool rise and I’ve got the time… Ideas, please… Standing by.
-Cook, aka just Craig

Yes, you certainly could make this with some WWW or rye flour. This is one of my favorite no kneads recipes by the way. It looks so professional and pleasing every time. I have made it with some WWW. I forget how much but I bet I did 25 – 33% WWW which is what I always do when introducing a whole grain for the first time. I added maybe 1-2 T. extra water. The bread was delicious but did come out a little denser. And as the dough matured in the frig the more dense the end product was. Rye would be great also. Maybe throw in some bread flour for a nicer rise if using some rye. Play around with it Craig! Elisabeth@KAF

Hi Sue- You really need to use the amount of salt called for in a recipe for that loaf to properly turn out well, especially in a no-knead recipe. If you want to add garlic salt, that will unfortunately interfere with the structure of your dough so it would be best to brush the crust with melted butter and sprinkle it on, or to make slices of your bread up as garlic toast or with garlic butter after the bake to add that flavor. If you have any further questions, please feel free to call our Baker’s Hotline at 855-371-2253. Happy Baking! Jocelyn@KAF

This is the bread recipe to beat all bread recipes. I adore this bread. It’s crusty, it has beautiful large holes, it’s fantastic for dipping in olive oil, it makes a marvelous pizza crust; I’ve even used a freshly baked slice slathered with creme fraiche and shaved maple sugar for a dessert to die for. Add to that it doesn’t even need to be kneaded and, voila, perfection!

The best plans… If there is a way, I apparently have found it as I produced a Frisbee – like bread; there was very little oven spring, The dough looked way too relaxed – will try again tomorrow.
What is the temperature of the dough when it is oven-ready? My refrig. runs 37 degrees F., maybe that cools the dough too much..??

Hi Will, your refrigerator temperature should be fine, although it will likely take a while for your dough to rise once you have shaped it, since the dough is cold. You may need to let it rise longer before you bake it. I would also make sure your yeast is healthy and active. We’d love to give you more help troubleshooting this recipe at the Baker’s Hotline: 855-371-2253. Barb@KAF

My son ordered up this bread when he comes to visit for Thanksgiving. I now know why I stopped making this bread. The frustration level is worse than being around my 2 year old twin grandchildren. My bad I tried to make two loaves at once and they spread over the parchment and stone. So I pulled the loaves out right away and they were stuck to the parchment. I scrapped the dough off the parchment onto my bread -making board taking with it the parchment in little torn pieces. What should I do, well I decided to let each piece rest 20 minutes and bake separately. This dough is very forgiving. Each loaf rose very high and are beautiful. Now all I have left to worry about is if there is parchment paper inside the bread.

Christopher, I’ve never tried this. It seems it would be a bit difficult, stirring flour and water into a cold, somewhat stiff dough to make a dough of the same consistency – not the same as a more liquid sourdough. However, I don’t see any issue with doing this besides the potential difficulty of the process itself, so go for it! And let us know how it works, OK? PJH

Just finished baking my first batch. My husband and I love this bread. I’m having a problem with my oven, though. After baking at 450 for 30 minutes, the oven will not shut off right away. I lower the temp after I take the bread out and then I have to wait about 10 -15 minutes before the touch controls work again.
Is it possible to get the same results at a somewhat lower temperature? Or preheat to 450 to get the steam and then lower to 425 or 400? How long to bake at the lower temp?

This is such a great recipe PJ!
You recently said your goal was to encourage non-bakers, and I want to tell all those non-bakers out there I was one of you till I learned this recipe in Jeff and Zoe’s first book some years back. Up to that point all I had ever baked were some pathetic little bricks that were only good as door stops. This style of bread baking was what I needed to make ‘the break through’. Now I have graduated and make all our family’s baked goods every week; sandwich loaves, cinnamon buns, cakes and cookies, fabulous fruit pies with flaky crusts (every time) and more. In my extended family I have become the ‘go-to guy’ for baked goods at our occasional extended family gatherings! Can you believe it? From flour, salt, water and yeast!
I still use this great recipe for flat breads, artisan and rustic loaves. It’s so convenient to have some dough in the fridge. So, my advise to you all is, don’t waste your money on anything but King Arthur Flour, get yourself a 6 quart bucket (and an Oxo digital scale if it’s in the budget) and make some bread.
You too could be famous in your family!

This is even better with King Arthur Sir Lancelot flour, chewier and cracklier. The additional gluten makes the dough even more forgiving.

Two, instead of baking on a thin, round pizza stone, bake this on preheated firebricks. They’re cheaper and retain a lot more heat than pizza stones. Get ’email at the home improvement store. Heat them on top of the stove while the oven heats up, and HANDLE WITH CARE. They get HOT.

Thanks for the tips, David! We haven’t tried this method in our test kitchen, but do encourage caution when handling hot tiles! Can you heat the tiles in the oven to avoid having to move them? Barb@KAF

foldedin dates pecans, cranraisons and cinnamon sugar flattened on my Quartz counter top did not add flour just buttered my hands coated with melted butter and finished with a sprinkle of cin sugar tast great

After scoring the top of the dough I brushed it with olive oil and spread a little coarse ground salt over it. It turned out perfect. My family was amazed that I could turn out a product that equals the bakery. Thanks.
PS, years ago I used to sell wheat to King Arthur mills. Wonderful people to work with.

PH, Please don’t laugh!..I may have missed it. What are we to do with the rest of the dough in the refrigerator? It instructs to remove a 14-19 oz piece of dough. Is the remainder dough fed, and saved for future breads? Thanks for not laughing.

I really like this recipe. I made it a little differently. I put the dough together on Thursday morning before work and then baked on Saturday afternoon. When I put the dough together, I added 1.5 ounces of KA’s Harvest Grain Blend and baked one loaf (about 1.5 pounds) in a clay Cloche, and another loaf in KA’s Clay Baker (the long one). The loaf in the clay baker was close to two pounds!

It came out beautiful! This dough makes A LOT of bread. If I make 14 ounce loaves, I get around four of them.

I especially recommend this recipe to folks who might be baking their very first yeast bread. It comes out so wonderfully that this is a great way to build your confidence to bake great bread.
It came out amazing. The bread looks totally professional and smells wonderful. I don’t know how it tastes first hand because they’re both giveaways, but this bread always gets rave reviews. What I like most about this recipe is how it’s so easy to put it together a couple days ahead of time, and then keep it in the fridge, ready to go when you are! That’s awesome. Thanks King Arthur for sharing this wonderfully easy bread recipe.

Sadly, I can’t rate this recipe with the five stars it deserves because my login doesn’t allow me to leave comments on or rate actual recipes.

Thanks for the rave review! I’m not sure why you’re having difficulty posting reviews on the recipe page, but if you call our friendly Customer Support team at 800-827-6836, we’d be happy to help you figure this out. Barb@KAF

can this be made with King Arthur’s gluten free flour blend? I know gluten is sort of integral here but was just curious, or do you have a similar recipe for a quick bread like this with your g-f flour?

Pete, this type of bread is difficult to make gluten-free; we don’t have a recipe for it, and I doubt it would work simply by subbing our GF flour. Yeast bread is the toughest of all baked goods to make GF, unfortunately. Your best bet might be to take our GF sandwich bread recipe and bake it in a round, deep pan, like a soufflé dish; that at least would give you the shape, if not the crusty texture. PJH

I made the dough and let it sit in the refrigerator for 3 days before making the first two small loaves. This is the first time to try this recipe and sure enough, it came out just like the pictures and did have a slight sour dough taste. Very good! Tomorrow I will finish the remainder of the dough and it will have been a week in the refrigerator. I definitely love the texture, holes, appearance and taste. Now to experiment with herbs and olives.

Love this recipe! It’s my go-to, when I’m not making sourdough. Like you, I find it is a great base for other breads. My usual is KA’s harvest grain blend and artisan topping. Yummy! It makes the BEST toast!

it looks so amazingly easy 🙂 we have a lot of different flowers I have to use we work with a different all purpose flour? I love king arthurs the best but I have some left over I got to get out of the house hahaha

Erika, since you got this far, keep going – but it’s definitely not going to be the same using GF flour and xanthan gum. Yeast breads are the hardest GF baked good to re-create; they require recipes developed specifically for gluten-free ingredients, rather than just subbing GF flour and adding xanthan gum. You might try shaping our Gluten-Free Pizza Crust into a flattish round; I think that would be your best bet. Good luck – PJH

I’m going to make an extra batch of this and divide it to 2 smaller containers to give to my mom who loves when I make bread, but will not make her own dough. She can keep one in the freezer. She will love that she can pull out only what she needs … it’s so simple and versatile.

I’m confused about some of the amounts in the recipe. I use gram weight when baking and a measured cup of water weights 236.5g but 8 oz. of water by weight converts to 226.75g. I used 236.5g times 3 equal 709.5 g and the batter was so loose it didn’t rise as much as it flatten out. I presume to much hydration?

Gary, you’re right–a cup of water weighs roughly 226 grams. If you click on the grams conversion button in the No-Knead Crusty White Bread recipe, you’ll see that scaled up, this recipe needs 680 grams of water. The 709.5 grams you used was likely too high of a hydration to get the results you were looking for. We apologize for any confusion, but the good news is this is an easy fix to make! Next time, just use 680 grams of water and you will be well on your way to getting the crunchiest-crackliest-chewiest-lightest, and hopefully EASIEST bread you’ve ever baked! Good luck and happy baking! –Kye@KAF

When storing the dough, keep it covered with a lid- the cloth will let too much air in. Don’t seal it tightly, because the dough will continue to rise as it chills and will need expansion room. Please don’t store dough for several days in metal; it can react with the bread. You can portion it into lightly oiled plastic bags and loosely knot them instead. Happy baking! Laurie@KAF

Have made this a few times. Excellent method with super results! Recently teaching myself the art of bread baking and having a great adventure. King Arthur Flour giving me excellent support along my path with knowledge and first rate products. Thank you so much. Sharing with you the latest results below of what I believe will be my number one method for baking bread.

I’m not a bread maker but I tried this. I have baked it at 30, 35 & 40 minutes, and the insides when I cut it feels damp. I have left it in the oven (electric stove) with the door ajar also took it out of the oven to cool after baking with the same results. I have always waited a hour or more before cutting it. I do bake it on a cast iron stone, with the pan of hot water on the rack below it. Do you have any idea what the problem could be?

Try using an instant read thermometer to be sure the bread is fully baked- it should temp at 190. Then still let it rest in the oven to dry a bit. Give our Baker’s Hotline a call at 1-855-371-2253 to get some more help- Laurie@KAF

By far, the best bread recipe I’ve ever tried. The key is not the ingredients, it’s the measurements and the techniques. The mixing, the method of baking, the timing of the dough and the baking and resting all vary with astonishingly different results based on slight changes. Start with this recipe and vary and tweak it until you have the bread you’re looking for. But know that this is the BEST guidance with which to start.

There are pin buttons on our recipes pages if you would like to share something you find tasty with the Pintrest Community! We will consider adding it to the blog posts in the future too. Thanks for your feedback, Sandal. Kye@KAF

Ruth, try substituting whole wheat flour for 50% of the all-purpose flour, to start. If you like the result, try increasing the whole wheat – adding 2 teaspoons additional water for each additional cup of whole wheat. Good luck – PJH

Michele, Rapid-Rise and instant aren’t exactly the same; we don’t recommend Rapid-Rise, as it tends to give out, in our experience. But instant is fine. And sure, you can absolutely use up to 30% (or even up to 50%) whole wheat – especially white whole wheat, which is an awesome whole wheat flour. Good luck – PJH

You can, David – we don’t recommend freezing finished dough longer than 1 month. Also, best to freeze it immediately upon making; don’t let it rise first. Then, when you remove it from the freezer, let it rise once before shaping, once after. Good luck! PJH

This is my husband’s absolute favorite bread! I usually always make the dough in the morning and bake in the afternoon so it isn’t quite as ‘sourdough-y”. I’m definitely going to try leaving the dough in the fridge for a few days to develop that extra tang!

I have never tried a no knead dough so am looking forward to trying this since arthritis makes it difficult to knead anymore. I hope all the people who bake bread will pass techniques of bread baking on to the younger generations. I used to bake bread with my grandchildren when they were very little. They not only loved the idea of getting their hands into the dough and working with it but also immense pride in being able to take home a loaf of bread they made with their own little hands. One of my fondest memories was making thimble biscuits with my grandmother. She’d make biscuit dough for adults and give me and my brother the scraps with a thimble to cut them out. We thought we were great bakers.

I have been baking Jim Lahey’s no knead recipe for several years now in cast iron pots with good results.

I tried the above recipe using a round loaf and long loaf together on a cookie sheet in a 450 degree oven for 35 minutes althought the round loaf ended up being quite small. I weighed it at 14 oz. before shaping the dough.

My question is how long does the cup of water take to evaporate? Could that have affected the size of the round loaf?

The rate of evaporation would be affected by the temperature of the pan, the temperature of the water as you added it, and your oven. It shouldn’t have any effect on the size of the loaf- that’s based on how you scaled it, and the point at which you chose to bake the final risen loaf. Happy baking! Laurie@KAF

I have just made this and even my wife admits it is the best bread ever. I only made 1/2 the recipe as I do not have room for a bucket in the fridge. I made a 1lb loaf. The remaining dough has gone back into my next batch.
I used our UK bread flour and bread machine instant yeast as I gave my other stuff to another bread baker.
Everything turned out fine. The holes in the bread were not as large as yours but it was perfectly acceptable.
Many thanks to Mary Jane at KAF for her help and encouragement!

If you use the measuring cup and dip into the flour and then scrape off w/ a knife, then you suggest using 6 1/2 cups of flour. How much water-still use 3 cups? Personally after attending a KAF baking class, I learned the gentle shake the spoon over the cup and then level off w/ the back of a knife method and I’ve been more successful! Just curious! Baking bread is always an adventure!

Yes, still use the same amount of water, Maureen. It’s all about matching the amount of water to the amount of flour BY WEIGHT, for this recipe; just trying to account for the different ways people might measure their flour, in the absence of a scale. Glad you learned the KA way while you were here; it’ll stand you in good stead. Enjoy! PJH

Interesting recipe, i tried it yesterday and let if ferment chilled for a day. Like Bill I couldnt figure out the yeast it called for and only used about 1/2 what it called for and it was still super active, even over active. The loaves are nice but the flavor is more like a straight dough recipe then one that is done with a pre-ferment. The bread has a nice crumb and crust. with chewiness you expect from an extended fermentation. it is a little easier then using a pre-ferment but it does not have as good a flavor. The wet dough does rise nicely and the high activity gives a nice oven bounce. This is a great learner recipe for someone interested in starting on artisan breads

This recipe would make more than I would need. I noticed in earlier comments that someone mentioned freezing the dough for later baking. Could I know more about this? At what point would you freeze the dough, and what would be the steps for defrosting, rising, etc? I do love the fact that this is so versatile and can see myself freezing a pizza-sized or individual roll sized amounts. Thanks!

This recipe makes 3 to 4 loaves, and can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. The longer the rest in the refrigerator, the more pronounced the (sourdough) flavor. To freeze the dough, after the initial rise (room temp for 2 hours) wrap well or seal in airtight containers. When you’re ready to use, defrost overnight in the refrigerator and continue as the recipe directs. Happy Baking! Irene@KAF

Hi PJ: I prepared the no knead bread dough on Saturday and made my first loaf on Sunday. It looked beautiful although a little too dark on the top (30 minutes at 450F). It was still a little dense and moist in the middle, but it tasted wonderful, although a little heavy. On Tuesday I made three slightly smaller loaves out of the remaining dough, one boule and two longer narrower loaves. This time I lowered the temperature to 425 and baked them in two batches for 35 minutes and used an instant read thermometer. At 35 minutes, the thermometer read 195F so I removed the bread to let it cool. The top was a beautiful brown, and the loaves had risen nicely. When I sliced the bread, it was still a little dense in the center. Should I go back to the higher temperature, and tent the bread with foil so it doesn’t brown too much, and leave it in for the full 35 minutes? Or wait until a higher internal temperature is reached with the digital thermometer? I live at an altitude of 5200′ and have been experimenting with yeast breads ever since we moved to Arizona. This has been the most successful yet, but I would still appreciate any tips. It’s still absolutely delicious! Thank you…

Keep trying, Susan – luckily, even the experiments will be pretty tasty! I think you might try letting your loaves rise a bit longer before baking; that way, there’s less chance of their centers being dense. Baking at 425°F is fine. One of the ways you deal with baking bread at altitude is to refrigerate the dough, and you’re already doing that, so at this point just try the longer rise. Good luck – PJH

I have found the taste of these artisan loaves are very much improved by using a preferment. This is done simply by taking 1/4 (4oz) of the flour, 1 1/2 cups of water, 1/4 teaspoon of yeast, and 1 teaspoon of sugar (I use barley malt syrup). Mix together in the container you will be using for proofing your dough, and allow to sit overnight or about 12 hours. Add this preferment to the remaining ingredients in the final dough, then allow it to rise at room temperature for 2 hours; after which you will refrigerate the dough for a minimum of 8 hours.
Some variations of this awesome artisan loaf, include rye, rustic, beer cheese, and Irish rye – can be found on my website FoodFamtastic.com

I had been baking a 12-18 hour no-knead dutch oven bread and was anxious to try this one as it offered a loaf in 1 1/2 hours. Weighed everything on a gram scale except the water and 2 packets of instant yeast. First loaf 9 hours later came out marginal, not really a boule, more like a very dense wet ciabatta. The second loaf two days later did not rise at all in the hour and was more like a dense wet sponge cake. Disappointed I don’t even know if I want to bake the third loaf. The dough is very wet. What went wrong?

Norm, it sounds like you may have a dough that was too wet, which can result in a dense, heavy texture in the final bread. We have some tricks and tips for folding that may help your dough come out more like boule and we can trouble-shoot the consistency of the dough if you call our Baker’s Hotline at 855-371-2253. We look forward to helping you with this recipe! Kye@KAF

I have yet to try this recipe. I’m a novice but would like to my hand at it. I have three questions, I live at 6,000′ elevation, does that affect the rising of the bread and do I need to adjust the recipe for higher elevation? I have also shattered my oven door window and ended up paying $800 for the glass and $200 for installation of glass. So you can see why I am hesitant about using water bath in my oven. Can I just use an oven proof pot with a tight fittinig lid instead? Looking forward to trying the recipe.

You’ll want to take a look at our high elevation baking charts: http://bit.ly/1xgg65Q If you’re hesitant about steam in the oven, using a cloche or a long covered baker would be a better option for you. The lids are left on for part of the bake, creating a self-contained steamy environment without spraying or a water pan. You remove the lids toward the end of baking to allow the bread to brown. Happy baking! Laurie@KAF

Stefani, this dough is too slack to knead effectively. So no, you wouldn’t get a better result – you’d simply get sticky hands! In this case, time steps in for kneading. Gluten develops itself as the dough ferments, given enough time; so it’s not like the gluten isn’t sufficiently developed, it’s just not developed by your hands. Hope this helps – PJH

Hopefully I will get an answer from this site, I posted the question under no knead white artisan bread but got no reply. I’ve been baking this bread a few times already and always turned out good. The question is if I decide to baking the whole dough at one time, yes, will be one big loaf. How long would it take to bake? And at same temperature? Thank you

We apologize if your question was overlooked the first time, Helen. Yes, bake at the same temperature. The loaf will be done once it registers an internal temperature of 209 degrees F. The crust should be nicely caramelized to a golden dark brown. Once the bread is out of the oven, it should crackle as it cools. A bread this size may take up to twice as long or longer (an hour or more). Good luck! This recipe is quite fantastic! Elisabeth@KAF

Edie, you can click on the orange link below the top most photo that says “No-Knead Crusty White Bread,” which will bring you to the recipe page. This is a simplified version of the blog post with just the information you will need for baking. There is even a printer-friendly version available as well by clicking on the printer icon on the recipe page. I hope this helps! Kye@KAF

I have been making Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day since 2011 and we love it. I love both of Zoe’s books. Unfortunately we can no longer bake this recipe or even the ones in the Healthy Breads in 5 minutes a day book because we only use White Whole Wheat flour for bread baking and I have not been able to reproduce the awesome bread using the same recipe. Any thoughts on what to add to the ingredients to get a great artisan no knead dough from White Whole Wheat? All of Zoe’s recipes all require at least 2 cups of unbleached white flour which we don’t eat anymore.

We do have a recipe for No-Knead 100% Whole Wheat Bread on our website, but it does need to be baked after the second rise or you could put the shaped loaf in the fridge overnight to complete the second rise and then be baked the next morning. Otherwise, you can try using a recipe that calls for white flour and substituting white whole wheat flour instead. It’s still 100% whole grain but is lighter in flavor and texture. To prevent the bread from being dense and heavy, also add 1 tablespoon of extra water for every cup of whole wheat flour you add in and 1 tablespoon of our Whole Grain Bread Improver for every 3 cups of flour in the recipe. This will promote a pleasant rise even when you use whole grains. I hope this helps! Happy baking! Kye@KAF

We always have a batch of this bread in the fridge ready to go whenever we’re having soup and or salad, or just want some great toasting bread. So easy and delicious. Glad you referenced the book it came from, and gave the flour measuring tip. I make several loaves to have baking when friends come over, and hand them a loaf when they leave. They make a thoughtful hostess gift as well.

Weather and humidity does often play a factor in bread making. You may need to adjust the flour to water ratio based on your environment. The dough should be slightly tacky to the touch, but not super sticky or hard to handle. Feel free to mix in some additional flour to help the dough stiffen up, but be aware that adding too much flour can make the bread tough in the end. You can also try folding the dough over on itself a few times to help tighten up the gluten structure and make it easier to handle. Happy baking! Kye@KAF

Out of curiosity, could I put this in a loaf pan? My husband will only eat bread that is ‘sandwich loaf’ shaped, but I really like crusty chewy bread. I’ve been on the hunt for something that is easy to do (I’m not that great of a baker – I tend to be more of the ‘cook’ type, because measuring things – I get impatient) that will combine the height and size of a sandwich style loaf with an artisan type bread.

Feel free to shape the dough and then bake it in a loaf pan if it makes it more husband-friendly for you! It can still be baked at the same temperature (450 degrees) for about 25-30 minutes and you can always test the internal temperature to be sure it has finished baking completely (190 degrees when taken with a kitchen thermometer). Just be sure that you a portioning out the right amount of dough for your pan size–an 8.5″ by 4.5″ standard loaf pan needs between 0.875 and 1.5 lb (394 – 680 g) of dough, which would roughly be about 1/3 of the total dough. The loaf pan should be filled about 1/2 way before the dough begins its second rise. Good luck and happy baking! Kye@KAF

I love cheese flavored bread, could a cup of shredded cheddar be mixed into the flour while it’s being created (?) and before it goes into the fridge? Or should I wait until I’m putting a loaf together to bake?

It would probably be best if you pull the amount of dough that you want to bake for that day from the frig and knead in the cheese at that point. It is fun to customize as you go! We are happy you are baking again, Sally. Sometimes all one needs is a recipe such as this one to help get back on track! Elisabeth@KAF

You are welcome to use a bread flour in place of all-purpose. You may need to increase the liquid slightly or cut back on the flour is all. The texture of the bread will have a nice chew! For the first time though, I recommend making this recipe using an all-purpose flour so you have a baseline. Then experiment! You may go for making a blend of both flours. Elisabeth@KAF

I’ve been “hooked” on making breads with sourdough starter. Is it feasible to substitute a portion of the instant yeast with my sourdough starter? Of course, the liquid would have to be adjusted as well.

My technique for crusty loaves is to bake on a stone and spray the loaf/stone/air inside oven with filtered (reverse osmosis) water in a small spay bottle to create steam. It works great and is much easier than maneuvering a pan of water! Spay when you put dough in, about 5 minutes later and maybe once more if longer baking time. Happy baking those crusty loaves!

You could certainly use your baguette pan to bake this dough. Just be sure to portion off the correct amount–a standard home baguette is between 200-250 grams of dough. A little extra flour on your bench may help with shaping, but you will also want to fold the dough over on itself a couple of times to help it stiffen up and hold its shape. No other changes need to be made to this recipe. Good luck and happy baguette baking! Kye@KAF

I make bread all the time but wanted to try this since it was no knead. I made this bread for the first time this week. It is very easy to make which I like. The crust, texture and taste were all good. The only problem was it did not look white on the inside like in the picture. It had a brownish/grayish color like a wheat bread. It was also a little weighty not light. What did I do wrong?

Jennifer, if you allowed the dough to ferment in the refrigerator for a few days and the dough was exposed to air this could cause the dough to turn a grayish color. This is due to oxidation, which is not harmful. You may want to cover the dough with sprayed plastic wrap as well as placing it in a lidded bucket, to help prevent the exposure to air. Your “weighty” bread might be due to adding a bit too much flour. We recommend when measuring flour by volume to use this method. If the bread did not rise well it could be because the yeast had expended itself. We do not recommend using “rapid rise” or “quick rise” yeast with this recipe, as we’ve found that these types of instant yeast tend to give a good first rise, but don’t hold up in a recipe that requires a more extended fermentation. For more help troubleshooting this recipe you may want to give our Baker’s Hotline a call at 855-371-BAKE(2253). Barb@KAF

It is a lot of dough! The bread is really that delicious that it is nice to have a large batch on hand. We also think that preparing one big batch that lasts the whole week is a nice shortcut to take. However, you can certainly go ahead and divide the recipe in half if this is just too much for your needs. As for your altitude, we have a full High-Altitude Baking Guide on our website to help give you some ideas about what changes to make. In general, with yeasted dough you can reduce the yeast by 25% and give the dough one extra rise before shaping and then baking your bread. Good luck and happy baking! Kye@KAF

I do not have a very good AP flour @ work (offshore rig) would it hurt to use 2-3 cups of hi-gluten flour to the mix? I hope that can “beef up the gluten content w/o compromising the end result…..
Thanks,
JP

Can’t wait to try this! Would like to bake it in that beautiful bread baking bowl from your catalog. (Many a lovely loaf has come from that bowl!) Do you think I should use half of the dough, or might that be too much? Would I start the baking at 450 degrees, and then lower the oven temp, or bake the entire time at 450? I like the idea of using the bread baking bowl because it gives structure to somewhat wet doughs, allowing them to rise up instead of out. Has anyone out there tried this?

The dough should fill the bread baking bowl about half way before it rises the second time; shoot for around 800 grams of dough if you have a scale. Baking at 450 degrees will help you achieve that crispy, crusty exterior, so we recommend baking it at this temperature for the entire duration of baking. You can always use a kitchen thermometer to test for doneness. It should read 190 degrees when it has finished baking. Good luck and happy baking! Kye@KAF

We haven’t tried using sourdough starter exclusively instead of yeast, but we would predict that it could work if you use a large amount of vigorous, recently fed starter (at least 2 cups that was fed 2-4 hours prior to mixing). We might be a little worried that your bread would not rise after resting in the fridge for a few days, so a teaspoon of added yeast might help ensure a pleasant texture and high rise. But as always, you are more than welcome to experiment and give it a try if you like. Feel free to share your results with us once you give it a go! Kye@KAF

Elizabeth, salt plays an important role in the structure and fermentation of bread, as well as being an important flavor element. I would not recommend completely eliminating the salt in this recipe, but you could try reducing it by half. The dough will ferment more quickly with less salt and the structure will not be as strong, so I wouldn’t recommend trying to ferment the dough for several days in the refrigerator. Using bread flour instead of all-purpose flour may help with the structure. Barb@KAF

I found your first recipe for no-knead bread (the one baked in a casserole dish) several years ago at about the same time a friend of mine found a different recipe. We traded back and forth and I combined several of them to come up with the one I like best. It is your recipe but also includes beer and vinegar (to replace part of the water) and makes the crustiest, tastiest bread. Other than adding those 2 ingredients, the only change I made was to let it rise much longer than your recipe and all the others specified for the initial rise. I usually start it the night before and let it rise overnight before putting it into the baking pan where I let it rise again all day. It requires a little planning ahead but it is so worth it!

I love to make this to have with soup. It makes a large loaf. Since it is just my husband and me, we usually use half a loaf to have with our soup. There are just enough leftover slices to make wonderful toast the next morning. I freeze the other half for the next soup night.

I didn’t know you could make it ahead and keep it in the refrigerator as you do here. I will definitely try that to develop even more flavor.

Oh my goodness… Don’t know what I’ve started. Just made my first loaf of bread with this recipe. My husband adores fresh bread & really likes it. This loaf was made from the dough I made yesterday. I’ll make another loaf in a couple of days to see how sour it gets. We both love sourdough bread. This recipe is so easy! I used 3 envelopes of the instant yeast as that was close to 1-1/2 tablespoons of the yeast & it worked! I also baked it on the parchment paper. It’s just so easy! Thank you! 🙂

Hello!
I just started baking and I’m very excited about your site. Silly question. Is active dry yeast the same as instant yeast? I tried this recipe and I don’t feel my dough rose as much as it should have. I also put it in the oven (off) for the first two hours.
Thanks!

Hi. Active dry and instant are two slightly different strains of yeast; they can be used the same way (you don’t have to “proof” active dry yeast any more; it can be added with dry ingredients), but the dough will behave slightly differently. Active dry is a little slower to get going, but by the end of the second rise and through the bake will catch up to instant yeast. Susan

I’ve tried baking this twice, and although it’s tasty, the bottom of the bread is very pale and not crusty at all, and I’ve left it in the oven for 40 min. I bake the bread on parchment on top of a bread stone that was preheated to 450. Any tips for a crusty bottom?

Heat the oven for the full recommended time- nearly an hour- so your stone can get thoroughly heated. In addition, after you think the loaf is done, remove the parchment and let the loaf sit on the stone in the oven for a few more minutes to fully finish the bake. Happy baking! Laurie@KAF

The parchment sheets that we sell (item 5854) may be used in ovens that are heated to 500 degrees. You may need to try another product or use a pizza peel to transfer your loaf to the oven onto a baking stone. Good luck Kitty! Elisabeth@KAF

i have made this bread with simple ingredient as mentioned using 3 and half cups of flour (which = to a lb of 420g) with out using a steam bath too turned out as mentioned chewy crusty and soft in the center taste wonderful when eaten fresh with butter and sprinkle of pepper. baked in a floured dusted bread pan popped out wonderfully but have to bake the crust abit darker bread last for a week still fresh or if not needed left overs keep in the sun to dry for making bread crumbs that could be used for all purpose breading or stuffing or in soups as a thickner.

I usually halve the recipe and weigh out all the ingredients (metric). This is the easiest way. This time I baked it to 206 degrees and it was perfectly done. This took between 35 and 40 min @ 450 degrees. Also, I this time I only left the dough in the fridge for a day and it came out perfectly! I have made it a couple other times and left the dough from 5-7 days and it was not as good! Will make often, thanks for the great recipe!

Just made the bread for the first time to rave reviews, but I do have a question. I have made bread before, but none have had what my husband says (and I agree) is a ‘clammy and rubbery’ mouth feel. Am I doing something wrong? If not, what causes the bread to be like that?

My refrigerator is small and full of food…can I cut the recipe in half? Would I use the same amount of yeast or halve the yeast too? I recall that with kneaded breads when doubling the recipe, you don’t double the yeast, and am wondering if the rule applies when going in the other direction. Thanks!

Quick questions: I weigh the flour so it shouldn’t be the problem, but will I need to adjust the amount of water called for in the recipe if I use KAF bread flour vs. KAF all purpose flour? Also on Step 5, should the dough be covered or just left open? Thanks!

Lemy, I would recommend adding an additional tablespoon of water for each cup of bread flour substituted. Although the recipe calls for sifting flour on top of the loaves as they rise, I would also recommend covering the loaves with sprayed plastic wrap to protect them from drying out as they rise. Barb@KAF

Aargh! After spending almost 3 hours reading through all the posts on this blog, I had made it from 2009 all the way to January or February of 2015 when my toddler pushed the “panic” button on the alarm system. While I was running to turn off the alarm, I left my cell phone within her reach and she closed my Web browser on the blog. Boy, it’s a lot of scrolling to get back to the most recent posts! I think maybe it is finally nap time.

Anyway, now that I finished reading all the fantastic comments, hints and tips about this lovely bread and writing down a lot of notes about how to add sourdough starter and bake in loaf pans, I just have one more question that I didn’t see anyone else ask. Has anyone tried making this dough with mashed potatoes? I like your KA Potato Bread Perfect for Toast recipe, but I hate kneading bread dough and if this method of “stir and sit” bread baking can incorporate potatoes, it might be the only recipe I use for the rest of my life. Would you eliminate a few ounces of the water if you added, say, about 12 oz. or so of mashed spuds?

There’s no reason not to put potatoes in your dough; you have the right idea, that reducing the water is key. Mashed potatoes are somewhere between 60 and 65% water by weight; so if you added 12 ounces of mashers, try reducing the water by 6 ounces. Try making two doughs (half batches) side by side, and you can compare the consistency of the dough as you go along. We can see you’re already a note-taker, so keep track, and in a couple of tries you’re likely to have achieved your goal. Let us know what rate of substitution works for you! Susan

Thanks for the great advice, Susan! As promised, I am here to report the results of my experiment with adding mashed potatoes. Are you surprised to see me back so soon? I certainly wasn’t going to wait until TOMORROW to try making this bread!
After cooking up and mashing a pot of potatoes, I measured out 12 ounces by weight and dumped them into the big bucket. I stirred in 18 ounces of water, (24 – 6 = 18) plus the salt and yeast as directed. I decided to add 1 tablespoon of melted butter, because potatoes always go well with butter, right? Then I stirred in the 2 lb. bag of AP flour. There still seemed to be a lot of dry pockets of flour in the bottom of the bucket, so I added one more ounce of water (still by weight) for a total of 19. After stirring thoroughly the dough still looked pretty shaggy, but I have enough years of bread making experience to know that the flour will usually hydrate well if left to itself for a while, so I set the bucket aside for the first room temperature rise.
As anticipated, the dough rose beautifully and from there I followed the instructions up to the shaping step. I pulled off about half the dough ball (around 1.5 pounds) and dumped it into a well-oiled 9″ metal loaf pan. I squished the dough into the corners of the pan a little, dusted the top with flour, and let it rise again for about 75 minutes.
I used the bottom half of my flat, square, metal broiler pan to make the steam and added BOILING water to the pre-heated pan. Note to self: next time, take off the glasses before creating a huge cloud of steam right in front of my face! I baked the bread for 20 minutes at 450 then turned the pan and baked for an additional 25 minutes at 400 until the internal temperature registered at 205 degrees.
When it was done, I dumped the loaf out of the pan into the empty broiler pan and let it cool in the oven, and the crust on my bread was just as brown, crunchy and chewy as you could ask for. It was the perfect blend of a sandwich-shaped loaf and a quality artisan bread.
I will report back one more time in a few days to let you know how well the dough keeps in the fridge, with the additions that I made of potatoes and a bit of dairy. It won’t be more than 7 days from now, but it could be much less, depending upon how long I can be patient before the urge to bake the rest of the dough gets to be too strong. Boy, this bread is fantastic!

I made this bread dough and all appeared just fine. Did exactly what it said it would do. I put the dough in the fridge. the next day I got a good sized ball of dough out. I shaped into a boule shape and all seemed okay. It was put on parchment paper on two stacked heavy duty baking sheets. After 45 minutes the dough had not risen even a little. After an hour it still had not risen. So I finally just put it in the oven at 450 deg with a pan of water underneath. It came out golden brown but did not rise very much at all. It had a very crusty crust but a bit under done in the center. It tasted awesome, but no rise. Any guesses as to what Idid wrong. Should I have left it out till it rose?

Kathleen, the bread really does best staying out for two hours, then chilling. It allows the dough time to rise and develop. Another possibility would be using Rapid rise yeast instead of instant. Please give our team a call and we’ll talk it over with you. Happy baking- Laurie@KAF

It’s just me, living in a motor home, and this recipe is way too much for me to consume and keep up. Can I cut the recipe in half? I wish that there were more recipes for single servings or smaller quantities.

Yes, you can absolutely cut this recipe in half. In fact, many if not most recipes can be cut in half; if the recipe calls for half a large egg, whisk 1 egg, then measure out 1 ounce of it (or 2 tablespoons). Good luck – PJH

Light breads with an open crumb (a.k.a. large holes) is a function of a high hydration dough (lots of water) and a long fermentation (a slow, cool rise). Try reviewing our blog called, In Search of the Perfect Loaf which has detailed steps and photos to help guide you through the process of making bread that looks like it came from the bakery down the street! Good luck! Kye@KAF

Yes, Jane, you can. Active dry is a slightly different strain of yeast that gets going a little more slowly than instant, but given the long fermentation times for the bread dough, you can use it just the same way. No proofing required. Susan

Marie, I wouldn’t recommend this method of achieving more tang. The yeast will eventually become exhausted, causing the bread not to rise well and to taste strongly of alcohol. Also, too long in the refrigerator will cause the structure of the dough to breakdown, making it very sticky and difficult to work with. Barb@KAF

Hi Marie, the issue is more with the two-week sit than the addition of milk powder. It won’t hurt to add milk powder to this recipe, and it should give you a bit more color and sweetness initially, but I think over time the milk would taste more spoiled than tangy. Barb@KAF

Steaming my oven easily, no more worries!
I posted this method several years ago on my blog on ‘thefreshloaf.com’. I called it ‘My New Favorite Way to Steam my Oven’. Since then it’s been called many things!
I got the idea from steaming suggestions for a wood fired oven. I changed it so I could get some fast hot, continuous steam.
I didn’t want to worry about breaking my oven door’s glass, tossing ice cubes or water into my oven, lifting anything hot or heavy. Well, you get the general idea. I’m a senior and not that steady or strong anymore.
Since my original post on my blog. I’ve modified it even more. Here’s what I do and it works for so very many bakers now use this method maybe with a few tweaks of their own.
1. What you need. A glass pyrex dish, cooking Tongs, 1-4 small terry towel type towels, I use white bar towels and of coarse oven mitts. Microwave oven, a metal pan. I now just use two of those aluminum pie pan’s I have collected over the years. I double them together for extra sturdiness. I’ve also used old bread pans, small sheet pan with edges. Use a pan or two that will hold the soaked towels and a little water in the bottom.
2. Fold the towels in half and roll them up. Place them in the pyrex dish. Soak them throughly in water and even some extra water in the bottom of the pyrex dish.
3. Place the dish with towels and water into your microwave oven and heat until water and towels are very, very hot.
4. Some extra boiling water. I just heat my electric kettle with some boiling water.
5. When the towels and water are hot. Lift the dish from the microwave with your oven mitts on. With your tongs, place the very hot rolls towels into your metal pans. Add a little boiling hot water either from your pyrex dish or your kettle water into and over the towels. Just enough so you have maybe about a half inch or so of water coming up the sides of the rolled towels ‘ I usually use two towels per pie pan’. Sometimes I place two pie pans in my oven and you could place them onto a sheet pan if your feeling a little unsteady using pie pans. I also find one pie pan with two rolled towels works great too. Because my oven stone covers the whole bottom of my oven. I place my towel pan on a rack above my baking bread to steam my oven and it works wonderfully.
I ‘pre-steam’ my oven, by placing the towel steaming pan in just a few minutes before I load my loaves into the oven.
I remove the pans after I’m done pre-steaming, usually about 5 minutes and, steaming my breads for about 10 minutes. A total of about 15 minutes.
That’s it. If you want even more steam, unroll the towels a little with the tongs.
SylviaH

I’ve read all the blog posts from the very first to the last one posted on Jan. 2, 2016. Some KAF responders recommend baking this bread to 190 degrees and others say 200-205. So which is it, KAF? I’m guessing 200-205 to fully cook the interior. Thank you for a great web site and for your wonderful flour. Can’t wait to try this recipe.

The bread will be fully done at 190, with a softer crumb and then a softer crust as the bread cools. Many of us bake our artisan breads to 200 or higher to ensure that the crumb is fully set and more moisture baked out, leaving the final loaf with a firmer crust. Without a thermometer, you would rely on your senses of touch, smell and sight to best determine the doneness of the bread. The ultimate choice is yours, of course. Laurie@KAF

Question –
I’ve been making this bread for a few years ..
It’s super easy and gets better the longer it develops in the fridge !
So, two questions – I’d like to use my LeCruset 22 enamel Soup Pit with Lid to make a nice round in a sealed environment … I’ve had 1 great success and many failed attempts … Any suggestions ?

Two- I love crunchy exteriors and soft chewey big hole interiors.. It’s pretty easy with this dough , but I also love / love the flavor of Rye Bread . So is there a way to get the crunch, big hole , chewey interior with a nice Rye Kick ??? ( seeded is AOK )
Thoughts ?

To get some rye flavor, you could substitute 15-20% of the white flour with a pumpernickel or dark rye, adding a teaspoon or two of caraway seeds. You might also add a few tablespoons of our Deli Rye flavor, which you can find here:

I have liked all of the KAF recipes. I have one suggestion. Please use actual temperatures in your recipes when specifying warm, hot, and cool liquids. I am never sure what temperatures these should be and invariably end up killing the yeast or not activating the ingredients. Thank you.

Hi I am a beginner to baking. I will be trying this recipe so my question is at what point would I add savory/sweet ingredients like sliced olives, raisins, herbs, or cheese to have a different flavor bread? Thanks.

Thank you Laurie@KAF for your response to my temp question. I’ve had the dough in the fridge for three days and have a loaf rising on parchment now. I’m taking photos as I go. Can’t wait to taste the bread tonight.

I made this dough Sunday morning and made my first loaf Monday afternoon. It came out great. It was a big hit with my husband and two year old grandson. It was a very easy bread to make. I like having bread in the refrigerator ready to go.I can’t wait to try making pizza with it. Should I pre cook crust before I add toppings?

It is nice to see this recipe is a hit! That is up to you. I always prefer pre-cooking my crusts not matter what recipe I am using. If this what you are used to doing than go right ahead, Cathy! Elisabeth@KAF

Question? How high is this bread supposed to rise while baking. Followed recipes instructions used a store bought active dry yeast, proofed it, and then made dough followed rest of directions..refrigerated for 7 days,,,.it’s winter here in Maple Shade,NJ,,,room temp is approx 72 degrees… let dough sit for about 3 hrs…Baked bread as directions advise. Bread came out about 31/2″ to 4″ tall…Tastes great, Nice tang to it….But, not sure if the bread baked correctly….This blog is full of great tips and thanks to all…I to prefer bread and pizza dough ready to go,,,tastes so much better and fresh, with no preservatives,,,Thanks in advance,,,Mike

Sometimes, as the dough gets closer to the 7th day, the rise can be a little less impressive. Supporting the dough with the use of a brotform during its last rise or baking in a covered baker may help. Some other factors that may be contributing to the lack luster rise may be the shaping technique, the possibility of the dough over rising or the oven temperature. We would love to speak with you in more detail so please call our hotline to speak with one of our bakers (1-855-371-2253). Elisabeth@KAF

My apologies if my question is addressed somewhere and I missed it. I’m wondering if there is a way to continuously add to the dough or if you just have to create a new batch once the initial dough is all used up. Thanks in advance!

I tried this and did not get the “perfect” results?
I used Red Star Dry Yeast, is this why?
Perhaps the temp in the house when rising was too cold?
Maybe salt kept it from rising higher?
I use a see-thru container and see a slight rise, gluten and even airy holes but after baking its all gone?
My bread was dense, no flavor, but a beautiful crusty top with the steam idea.
What might I be doing wrong? Try Try Again!

If your bread was too dense, then I think you used too much flour. Here is a link to our recommendation on “How to Measure a Cup of Flour”: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/videos/how-to-measure-flour. Your other questions would be best answered by calling the Baker’s Hotline at 1-855-371-2253. One of our friendly bakers can chat with you about your technique and what you did. We are available Mon-Fri 8am-9pm and Sat-Sun 8am-5pm, EST. Thanks, JoAnn@KAF

Hello! I LOVE your site and all the wonderful help I find here! I’m new to bread baking but this recipe turned out perfectly! I am wondering if this dough would be suitable for making bread bowls for creamed soups? How many ounces of dough do you think would be an appropriate serving size?

I make most of my bread into rolls, easier to portion control for meals. I believe this will work with individual rolls. Will it work with whole wheat flour and, if so, should I add gluten? Also, what about adding wheat or oat bran or even oats?

Dale, you can definitely make this dough into rolls, although the dough tends to be sticky and a bit hard to shape. You can also substitute up to half the flour with whole wheat flour, but you should expect a denser bread. I would recommend adding an additional tablespoon of water per each cup of whole wheat flour substituted, since whole grain flours absorb more liquid than white flour. Adding gluten may help counteract some of the effects of the added whole wheat, but be sure to add an equal amount of water to any vital wheat gluten added, as this ingredient will also absorb a lot of water. Adding wheat or oat bran or oats would be considered add-ins, since these ingredients don’t contribute to gluten development. Start small (1 cup or less) and see how you like the results, and, once again, be prepared to add a bit more water, since these ingredients are also quite absorbent. Barb@KAF

Love this recipe! But being from the school that says to not let dough deflate on its own, I’ve been reaching in the bucket to do a couple of stretches and folds before refrigerating. Would it be better to actually let it collapse on itself? I thought that expends the yeast.

MaryKay, adding a few folds may give you a stronger dough, but really won’t hurt anything. Generally allowing the dough to rise and collapse isn’t recommended, but seems to work fine for this recipe. Barb@KAF

If this question has been answered, I am sorry to ask it again, but what about rolls from this recipe. It is just my husband and myself and a whole loaf would be too much, but if I can bake a few rolls each day, that would be great! Freshly baked rolls every night for dinner, what a treat!

I have made this bread at home and we love it. I was wondering, is it possible to make it in a convection oven? We would love to make this wonderful bread in my daughter’s Bakery, but she only have convection ovens.

Home convection ovens tend to dry out baked goods, while commercial or bakery convection ovens are necessary for bakery or larger scale production. Watch the breads carefully in the commercial oven as they may take less time to bake. Enjoy the baking journey! Irene@KAF

Can this recipe be adapted to the use of wild yeast as opposed to packaged commercial yeast? If so what are those changes? I use classic sourdough starter for baking bread and want to avoid the instant rise yeasts.

HI! I want to try this recipe soon and have a fresh bread for breakfast. This question may sound obvious, but in order to assure it will rise well after taking it out of fridge, and considering my kitchen can be very cold in the morning, is it ok to let it rise in the oven with the function proof (80F)? I find it efficient with other breads that require kneading. Thank you!

Hi Camila,
You can use your oven as a proofing box if you think your kitchen might be too cold. Just be sure it isn’t too warm — this dough will rise well between 78°F and 80°F. You’ll want to watch it closely to monitor how fast it’s rising. When the dough becomes slightly puffy and when you poke the dough with your finger and the indent no longer springs back, you can move on to the next step: baking! Happy baking! Kye@KAF

I have baked two out of three loaves so far. It is delicious bread. This is a very handy recipe to have on hand. I jumped the gun on the 1st load and did not let it rise enough so it was dense but tasty. The 2nd loaf was perfect. I did the whole wheat version. I highly recommend this recipe

So here’s the story. A few nights ago I went to bed around 9 o’clock and got up at midnight for a bladder break. I thought I’d check my iPhone to see if a predicted storm was still coming and I noticed I had a few new emails. I saw that one of them was from the KAF site which I had recently discovered and I “accidentally” opened it. It was about your no-knead crusty white bread recipe of the year. I had never looked into no-knead bread before thinking it used some special kind of flour or gimmick and couldn’t be very good. But I thought l’d quickly check your blog about it and get back to sleep. When I finally looked at the clock it was 4:12 AM. I had been reading your blog for four hours! It’s like trying to put down a good book, you just can’t stop reading. Convinced that I should try this I put together half a batch yesterday following the recipe and stuffed it into my refrigerator. Today I baked 15oz of the dough and it turned out beautifully at 6450 feet in Sant Fe. When It was cool enough I sliced off a piece, put on some butter, took a bite, chewed, shouted “oh my God” and danced around the kitchen. (I’m a 76-year-old man so it probably wasn’t a very pretty sight.) I have been trying to learn how to make this type bread for several years. It is absolutely wonderful and superior in every way and is exactly what I wanted for soups, stews, garlic bread, sandwiches and just plain eating for starters. I am now ordering your 6 quart bucket and cleaning out my fridge (way past due) to make room for it. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I just baked the rest of the dough tonight so I could take a loaf to my girlfriend who is sick and staying with her daughter in Albuquerque. I wish I had discovered your site several years ago instead of several days ago. What a wonderful friendly company, website and blog. I love you folks even if you are causing me to lose sleep and put on weight! 😀👍🏼

What a wonderful story, Gene! We apologize for the sleep deprivation and weight gain, but trust these will be temporary results of your new found no-knead baking success! We’re so glad to be your companion in baking, and hope to bring you lots of baking happiness in the future! Barb@KAF

I just made this and had a good tasting result, but the bread rose unevenly. The top was large air pockets to the point where the crust over browned and got glass plate hard. The middle was good with small holes and the bottom of the loaf was dense with little to no holes at all, too dense. Any idea what would cause this uneven rising? I’ve encountered it several times before.

Jeff, it sounds like a few different things could be happening here. First and foremost, your shaped dough may need to proof for a little longer before you put it into the oven to bake. This will allow the dough to rise more completely and make for a more even crumb structure. If you aren’t already, you might also consider adding steam to your bake as suggested in the recipe–this should help to make for a crispier, rather than hard, crust. Lastly, you might consider baking at a slightly lower temp and/or slightly lower down in your oven to help combat the dark, hard crust. For additional help troubleshooting, feel free to give our Baker’s Hotline a call at 855-371-BAKE. One of our bakers would be happy to chat! Mollie@KAF

Evie, since this is a large recipe, you can safely add about 2-3 tablespoons of instant sourdough flavor in with the flour to give your dough some tang. Feel free to adjust the amount to meet your taste preferences. Happy baking! Kye@KAF

Heike, we actually wrote a whole article on our blog about using this fantastic recipe to make sandwich rolls! Check out the full instructions, which includes the amount of dough you’ll want to use to make specific roll sizes. (A 4- to 4 1/2-ounce piece of dough (about the size of an Italian sausage) makes a nice, crusty 5″ to 6″ sub roll.) Kye@KAF